VIDEO: Alabama Governor Apologizes to India for Police Force Incident that Injured Indian Citizen
Alabama's governor has apologized to the government of India for the actions of a Madison police officer who seriously injured an Indian grandfather during a police stop in that town on Feb. 6.
Gov. Robert Bentley also ordered the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to launch a parallel investigation — the Federal Bureau of Investigation has already started its own probe — into the "excessive force" that left Sureshbhai Patel, 57, partially paralyzed.
Police say an officer slammed Patel to the ground after stopping him when a caller complained of a "skinny black guy" walking around the neighborhood.
The officer involved is charged with third-degree assault and entered a plea of not guilty in court Tuesday, NBC station WAFF reported. Madison's police chief has recommended that the officer be fired.
Patel, who speaks no English but was questioned by police and given orders in English regardless, was in the country to visit his son and daughter-in-law and to help care for their 17-month-old child.