"We haven't been given any formal explanation as to why law enforcement isn't considering hate as the potential motive behind the assault," said Kiran Kaur Gill, the Executive Director of US-based civil rights group SALDEF (Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund) and one of the legal counsels of Harpal Singh, a 70-year-old Sikh man who was brutally assaulted in Los Angeles earlier this month.
Singh was assaulted on 4 August by a man with a golf club while he was on his daily walk near a gurdwara in Los Angeles' Lankershim Boulevard. He has been in a coma since the attack, having suffered a skull fracture and internal bleeding in the brain.
The LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) said on 12 August that they had arrested an "unhoused" (homeless) 44-year-old man named Bo Richard Vitagliano in connection with the assault as he was identified via CCTV footage. He has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.
While the Sikh community and activism groups in the US welcomed the arrest, they have been up in arms over the fact that the assault hasn't been labelled as a "hate crime" by the police.
'Suspect Has Extensive Crime Record, Yet Hate Ruled Out As Motive'
Kiran Kaur Gill, while speaking to The Quint, said that she has been in touch with the LAPD as well as the District Attorney and Department of Justice regarding Singh's assault.
"Our understanding is that the suspect law enforcement apprehended, Bo Richard Vitagliano, has an extensive criminal record. And yet, the police have ruled out the possibility of a hate crime," she said.
According to the DoJ's guidelines, which are followed by state police forces across the US, hate crime laws include crimes committed on the basis of the victim’s perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
However, when The Quint reached out to the LAPD regarding why they had ruled out "hate" as the primary motive behind the attack, they stated that the assault was not a hate crime, but instead motivated by a dispute over property belonging to the victim. But they did not provide any evidence backing this claim.
"Investigation revealed there was a physical altercation between the victim and the suspect. Witnesses advised that they did not see how the altercation began, but heard a loud commotion, then witnessed two men swinging metal objects at each other. Both individuals were struck."LAPD's statement to The Quint
"The suspect further assaulted the victim, while he was reportedly on the ground. Witnesses intervened by yelling at the suspect, at which time he rode away on his bicycle," they added.
The police further said that Vitagliano has an "extensive criminal record" for narcotics, assault with a deadly weapon, and various weapons charges.
Following the assault, a disturbing video came to the fore purportedly showing Singh in blood-soaked clothes and sitting in a pool of blood. Since the incident, he has undergone multiple surgeries and remains in a critical condition.
'Too Soon To Rule Out Hate As Motive'
Apart from SALDEF, civil rights group The Sikh Coalition has also been lobbying the police to not rule the assault out as a hate crime, particularly during the preliminary investigation.
"We are gratified that the LAPD heard the concerns of the community and acted swiftly, but it is far too early to definitively rule out bias as a potential motivation for this assault," Munmeeth Kaur, Legal Director of The Sikh Coalition, told The Quint.
"The reality is that elderly men in our community, especially those who maintain their Sikh articles of faith, like turbans and beards, are subjected to violent attacks far too often," she added.
The Sikh Coalition further stated that the police should at least wait for an official statement from Harpal Singh, who has been unconscious and unable to sit for a full police interview, before ruling out hate as a motive.
"After such an interview happens, if the LAPD still believes this was not a hate crime, they must publicly clarify how they determined hate was not a factor in this assault," a representative of the group stated.
In the US, hate crime investigations involve enhanced penalties for crimes like assault, vandalism etc, which can include higher fines, longer periods of incarceration and other punishments, depending on the severity of the offence. Further, the penalties also differ in different states as per local law enforcement provisions.
In California, where this particular assault took place, a hate crime charge can attract incarceration of up to one year in a county jail or a fine of $5,000 or both. The penalties can be enhanced as per the severity of the crime and the discretion of the judge(s) presiding.
According to the annual hate crime statistics report released by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) in August this year, Sikhs were the third-most-targeted group in the US after Jews and Muslims in terms of religiously-motivated hate crimes, with 153 anti-Sikh victimisations recorded in 2024.