Earlier, Officer Charles Spence who was called to respond after Mr Parker arrested Mr Sureshbhai Patel, said Mr Parker used a standard takedown move, the “front leg sweep” taught in the police academy. Officer Spence said that it’s used when a subject is being combative, but he didn’t observe Mr Patel being combative. He also said this type of takedown is “high risk” and he wouldn’t have handcuffed him in this circumstance.

Prosecutors asked Officer Spence if he saw anything that would have caused him to lay hands on Patel. “No sir, I didn’t,” he replied. Mr Parker had responded on a report of a suspicious person. The jury heard a recording of the dispatcher’s call to police about a “black male” looking into garages there. Police dash cam video captured Mr Parker slamming Mr Patel to the ground, and jurors watched those videos in court. Throughout questioning, even in opening statements, Parker’s lawyer, Robert Tuten, argued his client was doing what was necessary to “control the situation,” which is a duty of a police officer in an uncertain situation.

Appearing as a prosecution witness at the trial of former police officer Eric Parker, 26, in a Huntsville, Alabama federal court Captain John Stringer said that force is supposed to be proportional to the threat and circumstances. Captain Stringer, who oversees special operations, including training, for the Madison Police Department added that during controlled takedowns officers are supposed to decelerate the fall to minimise injury. Captain Stringer said that he watched the video of Parker’s takedown of Patel that same day in February.

Asked for his opinion on the technique Parker employed, Captain Stringer testified “I thought it was improper. I saw no indications of resistance, or active resistance or aggressive resistance.” He also added that he did not observe any signs of flight or attack by Mr Patel. A Madison dispatcher also testified that she searched through records of past police calls that might have helped Officer Eric Parker support a claim for probable cause to stop and slam down Mr Patel.