Hate crime slapped on man for throwing drink on Sikh : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Hate crime slapped on man for throwing drink on Sikh

LOS ANGELES: Hate Crime charges have been filed against a 40-year-old man who racially abused a Sikh and threw a drink at him, mistaking him for a Muslim.

Hate crime slapped on man for throwing drink on Sikh

Misdemeanour charges were filed against David Scott Hook. Thinkstock



Los Angeles, October 24

Hate Crime charges have been filed against a 40-year-old man who racially abused a Sikh and threw a drink at him, mistaking him for a Muslim.

The Kern County District Attorney’s Office filed misdemeanour charges against David Scott Hook from Bakersfield for allegedly accosting Balmeet Singh outside a California Avenue restaurant last month, cursing him, threatening him and drenching him with a drink.

Singh, while narrating the incident, had said that he and his friends were out to dinner at the Habit Burger in Bakersfield, California. He decided to step outside of the restaurant to make a phone call and that is when the incident unfolded.

Singh said in the middle of his conversation, a man walked out of Blaze Pizza and headed straight towards him.

“He says you’re trying to blow up this country, I should kill you. I’m going to kill you right now. And he used a lot of curse words and he seemed very angry,” Singh was quoted as saying by KERO-TV.

Singh said he yelled back at the man that he was a racist and he was the problem. Singh said the man continued to yell and then threw a drink at him.

According to a statement from the District Attorney’s office, Hook was charged on Saturday with one count of interference with the exercise of a civil right and one count of battery.

Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green was quoted by The Bakersfield Californian as saying that the civil rights charge fell under the legal category of a hate crime.

“It is alleged defendant David Hook threw liquid on another individual because he appeared to be of a different religion or race,” the statement said.

The alleged attacker “said I was a threat to the country I grew up in, the country I was born in,” Singh had told hundreds who gathered last week at a gurdwara in southwest Bakersfield.

The event, which included several guest speakers, was called a “dialogue against hate”.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

In a conversation with a Bakersfield Police Department investigator, Singh said he was told the man was identified and questioned. The man told police he thought Singh was a Muslim. PTI

Top News

Arvind Kejriwal to be produced before Delhi court today as 6-day ED custody ends

Excise policy case: Delhi court extends ED custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

In his submissions, Kejriwal said, ‘I am named by 4 witnesse...

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

The bench refuses to comment on merits of the issue, saying ...

‘Unwarranted, unacceptable’: India on US remarks on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest

‘Unwarranted, unacceptable’: India on US remarks on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest

MEA spokesperson says India is proud of its independent and ...

Bullying Congress culture, no wonder being rejected: PM Modi, backs senior lawyers who flagged attempts to undermine public trust in judiciary

Bullying Congress culture, no wonder being rejected: PM Modi

Backs senior lawyers who flagged attempts to undermine publi...

Gujarat court sentences former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to 20 years in jail in 1996 drug case

Gujarat court sentences former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to 20 years in jail in 1996 drug case

Bhatt, who was sacked from the force in 2015, is already beh...


Cities

View All