Sureshbhai Patel assault case: Mistrial declared for second time

After marathon deliberations spread over four days, a 12-member jury hearing the case of police brutality on an Indian grandfather in the US, has failed to arrive at a decision.

The first trial of the case, in September had also ended in a mistrial.

The second trial of Eric Parker, the former police official who is charged with using excessive violence against 58-year-old Sureshbhai Patel early this year, that left him partially paralysed, has ended in a mistrial, District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala said yesterday.

Parker, 27, faces up to 10 years of imprisonment if found guilty.

She said that Parker's case has ended in a mistrial after the jury informed her that they voted twice today, but failed to arrive at a decision.

Comprising nine women and three men, the jury in Alabama's capital Huntsville deliberated for more than 16 hours spread over four days after several days of hearing the witnesses from both sides which ended last Friday.

On Monday they watched the dash cam video - a crucial piece of evidence - several times.

On Tuesday the judge had encouraged the jury to continue with their discussion and try arriving at a decision.

After several hours of deliberations yesterday, the jury informed the judge about their failure to arrive at a consensus.

She asked if further deliberations would be productive or not.

"Not," said the foreman.

She asked: "Is the jury deadlocked then?" The foreman replied: "Yes, your honour."

Thereafter the judge announced: "The court declares a mistrial."