Sidewalks/Streets/Subdivisions in Madison, AL are not safe for "really skinny" black/brown guys/gals

Madison Police Officer Eric Parker is back from leave and headed for active duty today after Madison's acting police chief decided he did not violate policy in the sidewalk stop and takedown of an Indian pedestrian that led to federal civil rights charges and international publicity.

Let's recap:

Madison, AL Police Officer Eric Parker avoided a conviction after two mistrials.  In the first mistrial the black jurors refused to acquit, and in the second trial, the white jurors refused to acquit. Two strikes and you're out said the Federal Judge.

The only person to be found guilty of a crime is former Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey.

So now we know if someone calls and reports a really skinny black guy is walking around in the neighborhood acting suspiciously in Madison, AL it's within MPD policy to body slam said skinny black guy to the ground and partially paralyze them.

Are we safe yet? 

This is why EYE am #SittingDownWithColinKaepernic7

Edited~The Madison Police Officer who injured Mr. Patel is not convicted, but the Madison Police Chief is? #PatelAlabama

Grandfather visiting Alabama from India stopped by police while walking, left partially paralyzed

What is wrong with this picture?  EYE am not a lawyer or a judge, and EYE don't play one in the Blogosphere, but in the words of Keith Sweat, something just ain't right about this.

A federal judge today held Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey in contempt of court.

He has been placed on paid administrative leave by Madison Mayor Troy Trulock, according to a statement released by the mayor following the hearing.
Muncey was fined $2,500 and ordered to undergo special training. The maximum penalty Muncey could have faced was six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Muncey and his attorney, Jerry Barclay, declined to comment after the hearing.
Muncey is the only person to be convicted in the Indian grandfather case, which stemmed from a February 2015 incident when a native of India was slammed to the ground by Madison police officer Eric Parker, who was responding to a suspicious person call.

Let's recap:

Madison police last week roughed up a 57-year-old Indian citizen who was walking on the sidewalk outside his son's home, leaving the older man temporarily paralyzed and hospitalized with fused vertebrae.
"He was just walking on the sidewalk as he does all the time," said his son, Chirag Patel, this morning. "They put him to the ground."
No crime had been committed. Madison Police on Monday issued a statement saying the department had suspended the officer and were investigating the use of force in this case. The police statement wished the man a "speedy recovery."

Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala throws out excessive force case against a police officer because "All Lives Matter"

Per the Ruling: Two juries have communicated as much after lengthy deliberations that produced thoughtful questions and, ultimately, deadlock. The Court has no reason to expect a different result in a subsequent trial given the totality of the evidence that the parties have provided. The Government has had two full and fair chances to obtain a conviction; it will not have another.

So, it's two strikes and you're out for the federal government, but one strike and you're out for the Madison Police chief?

Parker has been tried twice in federal court for violating Sureshbhai Patel's civil rights but neither jury could reach a verdict. He was eventually acquitted of the civil rights charge by U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala, who then brought contempt charges against Muncey.
Muncey on Thursday announced he was taking a leave of absence. Now that Muncey has been placed on administrative leave, Major Jim Cooke has been named acting police chief by Trulock.

The contempt ruling from Haikala stems from Muncey's improper communication with witnesses -- all Madison police officers -- during the September 2015 civil rights trial of Officer Eric Parker.
The judge said Muncey was also wrong to assign Sgt. Lamar Anderson to observe courtroom proceedings once Muncey was no longer permitted to be in the courtroom. And Muncey was wrong in ordering officers who testified in the trial to submit reports to him on their testimony within 24 hours of the trial's conclusion, Haikala said.

Somebody help me understand what is happening here.  It seems like the wrong person is being punished.

The take down left Patel, who spoke no English, in need of spinal surgery and launched an international incident. Muncey recommended that Parker, who was charged locally with misdemeanor assault, be fired.

Haikala spoke from the bench for 30 minutes outlining Muncey's transgressions, repeatedly saying that the special prosecutor had proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge said that while she understood the difficult position Muncey found himself in in trying to protect the police department's liability in an unusual case, he violated a clear order from the judge.
Muncey "has to trust the process," Haikala said.

With all due respect, EYE am having difficulty trusting the process myself Your Honor, Mam.

#PatelAlabama: Governor apologizes to the government of India for Alabama police treating one of their citizens like "a skinny black man"

File photo - Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley looks around during a brief run through before he is inaugurated for his second term, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Let's Recap:
Two Madison Police officers converged on the 100 block of Hardiman Place last Friday following a complaint of a "really skinny black guy wearing a toboggan"  allegedly  peering into the garages of several homes.  The really skinny black guy wearing a toboggan turned out to be an elderly grandfather visiting from India, creating an international scandal.

Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for India's External Affairs Ministry, said the government took the incident "very seriously" and was in contact with the U.S. mission in New Dehli.
The government also will contact officials in Washington and Alabama, Akbaruddin said in response to reporters' questions in New Dehli about the treatment of Sureshbhai (pronounced suh-RESH'-beye pah-TEL') Patel in the Tennessee Valley city of Madison.
"What we will communicate is that we are extremely disturbed," he said. "This is a matter of concern for us, and India and the U.S. as open pluralist societies need to address these issues and find ways in a mature manner so that these are aberrations and are not the norm."

All of this forced Alabama's Governor Robert Bentley (R) to apologize to the government of India for treating one of it's citizens like a "skinny black man wearing a toboggan".

I deeply regret the unfortunate use of excessive force by the Madison Police Department on Sureshbhai Patel and for the injuries sustained by Mr. Patel," Bentley wrote to Consul General Ajit Kumar in Atlanta. "I sincerely hope that Mr. Patel continues to improve and that he will regain full use of his legs."
Bentley said he has instructed the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to conduct an investigation into the incident parallel to one being done by the FBI.
"I wish to assure you and the government of India that we will see that justice is done arising from the use of excessive force under color of state law upon a citizen of India," Bentley wrote.

Psst Government of India!  Can you do something about the excessive force used on black/brown Americans in America too?

#PatelAlabama: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A tale of tale of two grandfathers. One black. One brown. One American. One Not.

A tale of two elderly men of who were both brutalized by police but treated differently.

 

William Frazier, 80, in an emergency room shows injuries he says were inflicted by Huntsville police

Remember William Frazier,  who filed a brutality claim against the Huntsville Police Department and was arrested after he failed to stop for a pursuing police car for more than three miles, ran a red light, hit a curb and swerved around a stop stick before five officers pulled him from the car and took him to the ground?  This comes to mind in light of the recent take down by a Madison police officer  of the Indian grandfather, Sureshbhai Patel, who was partially paralyzed, after someone called to report a skinny black man in the neighborhood.

Fraziers' crime was being black.
Patel's crime seems to be being mistaken for black.


William Frazier files $8 million claim against the city of Huntsville.
 Sureshbhai Patel files suit against the City of Madison and the Police.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle defends the actions of Huntsville Police officers and blames the victim.
Madison Mayor Troy Trulock continued discussions with local Indian residents, and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley met with India's general consul.

The Huntsville City Attorney said Fraziers' injuries after police encounter are from arrest, not excessive force.
Madison Police fire, arrest officer who badly injured Indian grandfather during sidewalk stop

North Huntsville residents press for changes after elderly driver's police brutality claim

Sureshbhai Patel at Huntsville Hospital

Indian grandfather's injury by Madison Police officers prompts calls for cultural education.

Madison residents are embarrassed,  offended, and defensive by police assault on elderly grandfather, and a member of the local Indian community, started a Go Fund Me account to help raise funds for the Patel family.  

William Frazier was found guilty of attempting to allude police in city court

#PatelAlabama: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A tale of tale of two grandfathers. One black. One brown. One American. One Not.

Eye Report.

You Decide.