Jurors hearing the federal trial of an Alabama police officer who slammed an Indian man to the ground returned said Friday they are at an impasse, but a judge ordered them to keep deliberating.
Madison police officer Eric Parker is charged with violating the civil rights of Sureshbhai Patel, 58, when he slammed the man to the ground during a suspicious person investigation in February.
Defense attorney Robert Tuten has said the confrontation was an unfortunate escalation of police tactics and not a criminal offense.
Parker has said Patel resisted officers multiple times and he took the man to the ground out of concern for his safety and that of a second officer who was on the scene.
Patel has denied resisting and said through an interpreter that he didn't understand Parker because he doesn't speak English.
Video showed Patel turning to look at Parker while his hands were behind his back just before he was slammed to the ground and seriously injured.
Patel had traveled from India and was visiting relatives in suburban Huntsville when he was approached by police during a morning walk. A neighbor who saw Patel called police and reported a thin black man walking through the neighborhood and acting suspiciously.
