Consul General of India in Atlanta Mr Ajit Kumar met with Mr Sureshbhai Patel at the Huntsville Hospital

Mr Patel had come from India recently to look after his grandson who was born prematurely, filed a lawsuit saying his civil rights were violated. It seeks an unspecified amount of money. According to the lawsuit, Mr Patel said that he tried to tell the officers that he doesn’t speak English, saying “No English. Indian. Walking.” Both police videos show two officers eventually forcing Patel to the ground with his hands behind his back.

As of February 13, 2015 morning, the Patel family attorney, Mr Hank Sherrod out of Florence, said Mr Sureshbhai Patel could not grip with his hands but was able to slowly walk to the door and back to his bed after previously not having feeling at all in one of his legs.

At a press conference on February 13, 2014, the Madison Police Department played the audio of the original 911 call to report the supposed suspicious activity and a dash-cam video of the incident, in which Patel was tackled to the ground with his hands held behind his back.

The lone Indian Congressman Mr Ami Bera, who is also co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the incident “horrible and tragic.” Noting that the FBI has opened an investigation, he said, “Moving forward, we must come together as a nation to tackle the very real issues our minority communities face, and to rebuild trust and understanding among law enforcement agencies and the diverse communities that they serve.”

Several members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) including chair Ms Judy Chu, Mr Michael Honda, Mr Ted Lieu, Ms Jan Schakowsky and Ms Grace Meng also condemned the use of excessive police force against Mr Sureshbhai Patel. “In no way should the colour of someone’s skin or their limited English proficiency lead to the type of confusion and unreasonable use of force that left Mr. Patel partially paralysed. As we await the FBI’s findings, I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to ensure that this type of profiling and excessive force is no longer permitted by law enforcement,” said Ms Chu.

After an investigation from the Office of Professional Standards Parker was “served with proposed disciplinary action according to the Madison City policy and procedures...I recommend termination,” he said. Parker turned himself into the authorities in Limestone County on Thursday, according to madisoncountyrecord.com.

The FBI is currently conducting a “parallel inquiry” to determine if any federal violations occurred, Muncey said. The Washington Post cited a spokesman for the FBI as saying that the agency became involved shortly after the incident and it is being treated as a civil rights investigation. The findings will be turned over to the Justice Department for review. “For that, I sincerely apologise to Mr Patel, his family and our community...our desire is to exceed everyone’s expectations,” Muncey said.