Mistrial for Alabama police officer who threw Indian man

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday declared a second mistrial when a jury deadlocked again in the case of an Alabama police officer accused of throwing an Indian man to the ground, according to federal prosecutors.

Eric Parker, 27, was retried on accusations that he used unreasonable force while working as a Madison, Alabama, police officer. During his first trial in September, another jury in Huntsville, Alabama, federal court also deadlocked, resulting in the first mistrial.

Parker faced up to 10 years in prison on a single charge of depriving the Indian grandfather, then 57, of his civil rights in a case that drew international attention.

Sureshbhai Patel, who testified in both trials, suffered serious injuries during the February incident that was captured on videotape.

Parker declined to comment to reporters outside the courthouse, but his attorney, Robert Tuten, said he was disappointed that he may have to face a third trial.

"His life's been on hold for the last nine months while we've been trying to clear this up and it's obviously still not resolved," Tuten said.

At the time of the incident, Patel had recently come to the United States and spoke no English. He was stopped outside his son's home during a morning walk by police, who were responding to a suspicious person call.

Parker abruptly flipped Patel to the ground during the encounter, resulting in injuries from which Patel was not expected to fully recover from, his lawyer has said.

Madison police released video of the incident recorded from inside a patrol vehicle and apologized for Parker's actions.

"I feel strongly about the case," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Posey. "It's something that we're going to discuss with other people, get other people's views, but this has not changed my belief that this is a strong case that needed to be brought, and it would be nice to get a resolution."

The police department has recommended that Parker be terminated, but he has challenged that recommendation and the proceedings are on hold until his federal case is resolved, Tuten said.

(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida, and Karen Brooks in Austin, Texas; Editing by Sandra Maler)