BY VEENA RAO
Kennesaw, February 10, 2026: Mahendra “Mick” Patel has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that Cobb County law enforcement and prosecutors wrongfully charged and jailed him for nearly seven weeks following a widely publicized incident at a Walmart store in Kennesaw last summer.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by attorneys from Milberg and Radner Law Group. It names an Acworth police detective, the Acworth Police Department, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, and others as defendants. The complaint alleges malicious prosecution, deprivation of liberty without due process, selective prosecution, and related constitutional violations.
According to the filing, Patel was arrested in July 2025 after a brief interaction inside a Walmart, where a shopper, Caroline Miller, accused him of attempting to kidnap her young child. Patel was charged with criminal attempt to commit kidnapping, assault, and battery, and was denied bond, resulting in 47 days of incarceration at the Cobb County jail.
Attorneys for Patel say surveillance video reviewed by police on the night of the incident showed no use of force, no injury to the child, and no attempt to remove the child from the mother’s custody. Despite this, authorities proceeded with felony charges, the lawsuit alleges.
The complaint further alleges that when Patel’s defense team sought access to the Walmart surveillance footage, prosecutors attempted to block its release while pursuing an indictment on the same day. All criminal charges against Patel were ultimately dismissed on August 6, 2025.
“This case is not about a good-faith error,” said Solomon Radner of Radner Law Group. “It raises serious questions about what happens when exculpatory evidence is ignored, and the system continues forward anyway.”
Marc Grossman, a partner at Milberg, said the lawsuit seeks accountability for what the complaint describes as an abuse of power. “Civil rights are meaningless if police and prosecutors can knowingly proceed with false charges and face no consequences,” he said.
Patel alleges he suffered lost wages, emotional distress, reputational harm, and significant legal expenses as a result of his arrest and detention. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and a jury trial.
Officials from the Acworth Police Department and the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office had not publicly commented on the lawsuit as of Monday.
WATCH MAHENDRA PATEL TELL HIS STORY AT NRISTORIES 2025
