There has been a lot of buzz lately about excessive police violence and profiling in America, and what happened to Sureshbhai Patel is another example of police abusing their power. This time they put a 57 year old unarmed grandfather in the hospital with a bloody face and partial paralysis. Right now there is an internal investigation, but that just means the department is investigating itself and is not releasing any audio or video evidence! Please sign my petition asking the Department of Justice to investigate this incident which took place in Madison, Alabama.

Sureshbhai is visiting from India to help take care of his 17-month old, prematurely born, developmentally delayed grandson. He was out for a routine daily walk when police officers started to question and frisk him, then reportedly grabbed Sureshbhai’s arm, wrenched it behind his back and forced him to the ground. His face hit the ground and was bloodied. His neck was injured and he reported having no feeling in his arms or legs. 

With his limited vocabulary in English, Sureshbhai reportedly said “No English. Indian. Walking,” and gave his son’s house number, pointing in the direction of the family’s home. What justification could there be for police to so violently abuse this man?

The Department of Justice has the authority to allocate resources to investigate the police department's conduct. Unfortunately, we have seen what happens when police are not held accountable -- the people of color in our communities are being harassed, abused, and sometimes killed.

Sureshbhai underwent cervical fusion surgery the day after this assault, and he is still partially paralyzed. They say doctors expect recovery to take months and bills may total $100,000. What a price to pay for a grandfather out for a walk while visiting America to care for his grandson. 

Please sign to support a Department of Justice investigation to hold these police officers accountable for their clear abuse of power and any related issues of profiling.