World
Indian grandfather was slammed like ‘cutting down a tree’
By Arun Kumar
Washington: An Alabama police officer used a too violent technique, like “somebody cutting down a tree”, to slam an Indian grandfather to the ground, an expert witness testified in the retrial of the cop.
Former Madison Officer Eric Parker did not use a takedown consistent with prevailing national police standards for Sureshbhai Patel, who had arrived days earlier from India to take care of his grandson, Captain Kenny Sanders told a Huntsville court Thursday.
The first trial of Parker for the Feb 6 takedown of Patel while he was taking a walk near his son’s home ended early last month with a hung jury, as the jury split 10-2 in favour of acquittal. If convicted, Parker faces 10 years in federal prison.
“That was pretty violent technique that he used that day. I’ve never seen it,” said Sanders, who testified he is the senior master instructor for police training in the state of Louisiana, according to Al.com
“Lumberjack, that’s what it reminds me of, somebody cutting down a tree in their yard,” he said when asked about the takedown of Patel, 57, in response to a neighbour’s call about a “skinny black man” walking near homes.
The takedown left Patel in need of spinal surgery and with limited ability to walk or grip with his hands.
The defence has argued Patel pulled away as Parker searched him and that he could have had a deadly weapon in his pants’ pockets.
“If he was trying to pull away, it still would not have equated to the type of force … the technique is too violent,” testified Sanders.
He said Patel’s age, his size, his inability to speak English and the presence of multiple officers should have factored into the decision on how to handle Patel.
Sanders also testified he did not see a sign of a threat on the video, saying Patel’s legs seemed relaxed.
As for Patel walking away from officer, Sanders said: “That’s not really resistance.”
Earlier, Captain John Stringer, an 18-year veteran of the Madison police force, said the force used by Parker had to be proportional with the actions of Patel. “My conclusion was it was improper.”
After the prosecution rested, Defence attorney Robert Tuten asked the judge to throw out the case saying, “They did not prove he was wilfully, intentionally violating the civil rights of Mr. Patel by using excessive force.”
Assistant US Attorney Robert Posey replied that police must be “objectively reasonable” in taking steps that would be criminal assault if done by somebody else. “He’s lucky he didn’t kill him. This is essentially, the government would argue, deadly force.”
Shanghai’s rich middle class is leading a wave of online dissent over the strict and prolonged lockdowns imposed in various parts of the country. Chinese internet censorship is struggling as patience is wearing thin in many urban centers, coming up with creative forms of online protests.
Social Media Posts Revealing Lockdown Tension in Shanghai
Drawn-out lockdowns are nothing new in China as authorities insist with the nation’s zero-Covid policy since the start of the pandemic. Currently over This time around, however, metropolitan areas like Shanghai are increasingly difficult to keep quiet, given that its more than 25 million residents have seen weeks of total isolation along with food shortages and many other service interruptions.
Dozens of towns and reportedly over 300 million Chinese citizens have been affected by lockdowns of different severity. As expected, urban netizens have been most outspoken over their difficulties by finding creative ways to get around state censorship and bans placed on topics, news comments and spontaneous campaigns.
Shanghai residents have been using mobile proxies and hijacking seemingly unrelated hashtags to talk about healthcare issues, delivery failures and the overall severity of their situation. The “positive energy” that the Chinese government wants to transmit during the recent prolonged series of lockdowns does not come naturally to those counting food supplies and online censors are working hard to filter words, trending topics and undesired social media sharing.
WeChat groups and message threads are under constant monitoring. Posts questioning the zero-Covid approach have been quickly deleted, including by leading Chinese health experts like Dr. Zhong Nanshan. Video footage is soon censored and protests and investigations are quickly made to disappear.
Where this has not worked, officials have exposed banners with warnings and outright threats like “watch your own mouth or face punishment”, while drones have been patrolling the city skies. Yet, if anything, this has led to further tensions and unspoken confrontation with Shanghai’s educated and affluent middle class.
Creative Online Solutions Harnessing Civic Energy
Announcements by Chinese social media that they would be publishing the IP addresses of users who “spread rumors” have not helped either. Tech industry research has shown that much of Asia’s tech-savvy population has a habit of using mobile proxies and other privacy tools, quickly finding workarounds to browse the internet freely and talk to the world about the hottest topics.
The sheer volume of forbidden posts is already a challenge for the very censorship system, experts explain. Unable to track all trending hashtags, state workers overlook topics that speak about the US, Ukraine or other popular news. Linking human rights elsewhere to their situation, Chinese online dissidents establish their informal channels and “hijack” the conversation to share personal or publicly relevant information about the Covid suppression in their town.
Sarcastic and satirical posts still dominate. Others hope to evade the censors by replacing words from famous poems or the national anthem. One thing is certain – social media, when harnessed with the right creativity, has proven its ability to mount pressure on the government in even some of the most strictly controlled tech environments like China.
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
Lockdowns in China Force Urban Communities to Defy Censorship and Vent Frustration Online
What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
