After two straight days of deliberation, a US federal Jury has sought another day to debate the case against an Alabama police officer charged with slamming an Indian grandfather to the ground and leaving him severely injured last February.
The jury told US District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala in federal courthouse in Huntsville Tuesday afternoon that they could not reach consensus in the case against Madison Police Officer Eric Parker, 27, for assaulting Sureshbhai Patel, according to Al.com.
The jury asked the judge for permission to go home early and come back tomorrow. Earlier, the jury sent a note to Haikala: "We have voted a couple of times and haven't come up with a unanimous decision. What do we do next?"
At that point, Haikala said there was no reason to believe the federal government could select a more confident or more conscientious jury for a new trial.
She told the jury of expense of the trial and of the emotional strain. She urged the jury to continue deliberations and end the matter, if possible.
Parker, 27, is charged with deprivation of rights under colour of law for the takedown that left Sureshbhai Patel, 57, in need of spinal surgery.
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The first jury in September deadlocked 10-2 in favour of acquittal, leading to the retrial. If convicted, Parker faces up to 10 years in prison.
Patel who does not speak English, was walking in front of his son's home on the morning of Feb 6 when a neighbour called police to report a suspicious person.
Parker and another officer stopped Patel. Parker says Patel did not comply with police orders, that he pulled away during a frisk and that he feared Patel could be armed. Parker testified he lost his balance during the takedown.
Patel said he did not understand officers, did not resist and did not pull away.