MONTGOMERY (TIP): Alabama’s governor apologized to the government of India for the police officer who assaulted and injured an Indian grandfather on Feb. 6.
Governor Robert Bentley has also ordered his state to investigate exactly what happened, alongside an FBI probe. The use of “excessive force” left Sureshbhai Patel, 57 years old, partially paralyzed. “I sincerely hope that Mr. Patel continues to improve and that he will regain full use of his legs,” Bentley said in a letter to India’s consulate in Atlanta.
The attack on Patel has garnered sympathy and outrage from all corners of the world (and social media), to help the Patel family with medical bills, “Sureshbhai Patel’s Recovery Fund” was created on the crowd-funding platform GoFundMe.com. The campaign’s goal was to raise $100,000 but within six days, it has drawn donations worth nearly$190,000. The page was started by Aakash Patel, who is not related to the victim and should be given credit for mustering the support the case truly deserved.