Former Madison police Chief Larry Muncey has lost an appeal of his conviction for contempt of court in the excessive-force trial of Officer Eric Parker.

Muncey, who resigned as chief last year after being placed on leave, was found in contempt for ordering officers who testified in the trial to submit reports to him on their testimony.

Muncey was found in contempt and guilty of a class B misdemeanor because he violated the court's sequestration order during the trial. Witnesses, including Muncey and other officers, were not supposed to know what others testified.

"Because there was sufficient evidence to support the district court's conclusion that Muncey violated the order, we affirm the district court," the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a decision released this week.

Muncey is the only person who has been convicted in the September 2015 Indian Grandfather trial. Parker was accused of excessive force for slamming Sureshbhai Patel to the ground while responding to a suspicious person call, but the officer later was acquitted.

Muncey and Capt. Terrell Cook sent Sgt. Lamar Anderson to observe the trial and report back what the testimony was, the courts have said. Muncey was concerned about the police department looking bad, according to the appeals court. He was worried about officers telling the jury that they believed Parker's conduct was in line with department policy and training, and that they would have done the same thing in the situation.

Parker had stopped Patel, a native of India who didn't speak English, for questioning as he walked near his son's Madison home. The takedown left Patel in need of spinal surgery and launched an international incident.

Muncey sent the following email to several officers:

"According to WHNT 19 and the Huntsville Times, each of you testified under oath that Madison City Police policy supported Parker's use of force on Mr. Patel, and in that same situation, you would have done the same. Please provide me with a written statement explaining if these reports are correct; if they are not correct, explain what you did say. Send the reports directly to me within twenty-four hours of the Parker case being decided, not before."

Muncey recommended that Parker, who was charged locally with misdemeanor assault, be fired. Parker ultimately was acquitted of the excessive force charges because two federal trials ended with juries unable to reach unanimous verdicts. Parker has since returned to work.

U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala, who acquitted Parker, is the judge who found Muncey in contempt.

Muncey resigned as chief Dec. 1 after being placed on leave eight months earlier by then-Mayor Troy Trulock.