UPDATE: TWO COLLEAGUES TESTIFY AGAINST HUNTSVILLE OFFICER

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) – Two Alabama police officers have testified against a colleague charged with using excessive force against a man from India.

Madison police Lt. Clint Harrell and patrol officer Charles Spence testified Wednesday for prosecutors who are asking jurors to convict officer Eric Parker of a civil rights violation.

Both officers say they saw no reason for Parker to knock down 58-year-old Sureshbhai Patel (suh-RESH’-beye pah-TEL’) during an encounter in a suburban neighborhood near Huntsville in February.

Patel also testified, saying through an interpreter he doesn’t speak English and couldn’t understand officers who stopped to question him as they investigated a report of a suspicious man.

The defense says Patel is to blame because he didn’t comply with Parker’s instructions.

Parker’s first trial ended in a hung jury last month.