Judge May Dismiss Case: White Madison Cops Body Slammed Indian Man Face First Causing Paralysis
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From [HERE] A federal judge has given Sureshbhai Patel’s lawyers 20 days to show the court why she shouldn’t throw out Patel’s lawsuit against the City of Madison and police officer Eric Parker.
Patel sued Madison and Parker, alleging federal civil rights violations, after suffering spinal damage from the encounter with Parker.
The show cause order by U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins is dated Dec. 29. Patel’s lawyers are being asked to respond to Madison’s latest motion to dismiss the complaint.
A widely viewed police dashcam video captured Patel's subsequent police takedown, which resulted in injuries to Patel's spine and partial paralysis. Parker has denied the allegations in Patel's lawsuit, saying in court papers that he took Patel to the ground after he jerked away a fourth time during a weapons frisk. In the video, the 58 yr old was confronted by two white cops and does not appear to threaten either officer by word or action. Patel was left with serious injuries after the brief February 2015 encounter with Parker in a Madison neighborhood.
Parker was later charged with willfully using excessive force on Patel, but two juries deadlocked and a federal judge ordered Parker’s acquittal in January 2016.
Parker had been suspended since the incident, but was reinstated in September, after Madison’s acting Police Chief Major Jim Cooke found his take-down of Patel did not violate department policy.
Patel’s attorney Hank Sherrod has argued in court filings that Madison has had a pattern of civil rights violations by police officers.
But in its motion to dismiss, the City of Madison says the plaintiff’s haven't provided any facts to support the claim that officers were not disciplined for use of excessive force.
