Alabama governor apologizes for police assault that left visitor from India partially paralyzed

(Image credit: Twitte.com/ZeeNews)

published 18 February 2015

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) has written a letter to the government of India, apologizing for the actions of two police officers who seriously injured a man visiting from the country.

Sureshbhai Patel, 57, was in the city of Madison to help care for his 17-month-old grandson, Time reports. He was stopped by two police officers near his son's house, and was left partially paralyzed after he was thrown to the ground. "I deeply regret the unfortunate use of excessive force by the Madison Police Department on Sureshbhai Patel and for the injuries sustained by Mr. Patel," Bentley wrote to Ajut Kumar, Indian Consul General in Atlanta. "I sincerely hope that Mr. Patel continues to improve and that he will regain full use of his legs."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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