This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
THE defence lawyer for the Alabama policeman who paralysed an elderly Indian man in a vicious attack has suggested the victim was to blame for not speaking English.
The second trial of officer Eric Parker over his assault on Sureshbhai Patel began on Tuesday with opening statements from the prosecution and defence.
Jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the first prosecution of Mr Parker last month, with the judge declaring a mistrial.
Mr Parker and a newly qualified officer answered a call about a suspicious-looking black man in the Huntsville suburb of Madison on February 6.
But defence lawyer Robert Tuten claimed that officers felt threatened because Mr Patel, who did not speak English, ignored instructions to remove his hands from his pockets.
Mr Tuten said anyone who comes to the United States is expected to follow the law and speak the dominant language.
“Here, we speak English,” he said.
