Jurors will continue deliberating this morning in the civil rights trial of former Madison police officer Eric Parker.
Parker’s defense rested its case yesterday afternoon after the officer testified in his own defense.
Parker said he had been called out to investigate reports of a suspicious person. He said he was aware of the language barrier between himself and Indian grandfather Sureshbhai Patel, but it was still his responsibility to investigate.
Parker testified that Patel’s behavior indicated he posed a threat. He says during his attempt to subdue Patel, he lost his balance and they both fell. A neurosurgeon testified that Patel suffered spinal cord damage and was partially paralyzed in the fall. Patel remains partially paralyzed and requires constant care.
Parker is facing a federal civil rights abuse charge which could put him in prison for up to ten years if convicted.
The nation will observe the 14th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks tomorrow. APR’s Pat Duggins reports students at the University of Alabama will be joining in.
Members of the University of Alabama’s Student Government Association and the Circle K Kiwanis Club will working together for a 9/11 memorial tomorrow.
The group will place close to 3,000 small banners in the shape of the United States flag on the grounds of the Tuscaloosa campus. Each small flag will be inscribed with the name of one of the victims of the attacks on New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 that went down in Pennsylvania. The event will start tomorrow morning between the Ferguson Student Center and Woods Hall.
There will be another observance tomorrow at the U.S.S. Alabama memorial in Mobile. A monument to Alabamians lost in the battle against terrorism since 9/11 will be unveiled.
The United States has more mass shootings of any country in the world, and a Tuscaloosa professor thinks he knows why.
University of Alabama criminal justice professor Dr. Adam Lankford recently conducted a study that found a strong link between mass shootings and guns owned per capita.
Lankford says comparing the U.S. to the rest of the world in terms of gun ownership is no contest.
“The United States is number one in firearms owned per capita by a large margin. We have approximately 90 firearms owned per 100 people in this country and no other country in the world even has a ratio of 60 firearms per 100 people.”
Lankford’s research has been cited by the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times following the recent shooting in Virginia.
The city government in Bayou La Batre may be forced to lay off some of its employees soon.
Bayou La Batre Mayor Annette Johnson says the city needs to trim more than $200,000 in payroll expenses to balance its budget. She says the city could consider either furloughs or layoffs.
The proposed furloughs would amount to one day’s pay for each of the next three months for all city employees. Prospective layoffs would affect three of the city’s fifty employees.
The council didn’t make a decision on the issue during their meeting Tuesday night. They are expected to revisit the possible furloughs or layoffs at a meeting this evening.