While self acclaimed patriots in India are busy lecturing people on nationalism and culture while hitting out at a neighbouring nation , Indians are themselves facing issues abroad as well. Racial violence and police brutality against coloured people in the US has been a major concern for the last couple of years, and now an Indian national is finding out just how bad things really are, as reported by AL.com .
A 57-year-old Indian citizen, Sureshbhai Patel, is being blamed by the defence in a case where an Alabama police officer Eric Parker took him down with a leg sweep, which broke his spine. Defence lawyer Tuten said that, “When you come to the U.S. we expect you to follow our laws and speak our language.”
This was a response to the prosecution’s argument that Patel did not understand English and also told the police “no English” five times, along with mentioning India thrice before trying to walk him to his son’s house.
The prosecution also said that there were other options like handcuffing the man and a leg sweep followed by a forceful take down was clearly unnecessary brutality.
Apart from the rising cases of police brutality, the case also raised questions about racism, as the previous jury came up with a hung verdict with ten white males favouring acquittal and 2 black women holding Parker guilty. The defence lawyer Tuten mentioned that Patel reached for his pockets — a movement they described as suspicious. The prosecution said it did not come up unless Parker was forced to explain his actions.
While a new jury with 11 women, including four black women, and three men has been selected, the prosecution is not arguing against racism. Tuten, on the other hand, said, “If you act like a criminal you are going to be treated like one.”
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