A police chief’s son was among the two teenagers arrested on Aug. 8 for allegedly assaulting an elderly Sikh man in California earlier this week.
Tyron McAlister, the 18-year-old son of Bay Area Police Chief Darryl McAllister, was arrested along with a 16-year-old teenager for allegedly attacking the 71-year-old Sikh man on Aug. 6, the Manteca Police Department said in a statement. The arrests were made after the police received numerous tips from the public and examined surveillance video footage from the site of the incident, which assisted in the identification of the suspects.
Both the suspects have been charged with attempted robbery, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. The police is still investigating if the attack was a hate crime.
Surveillance camera footage from a nearby house released by the police shows the two teens, wearing hoodies, confronting Sahbit Singh Natt, who was taking his daily morning walk along Greystone Park on Turquoise Way. The video shows one of the individuals, identified by the police as suspect McAllister, suddenly kicking Natt, who falls to the ground, and his turban comes off. The video then shows him trying to get up but the attacker kicks him again, and Natt falls on his head. McAllister and his companion then walk away, while the Sikh man lies writhing in pain on the ground. The suspect, identified as McAllister, then rushes back and kicks Natt three times. He then starts leaving again, but turns around, and spits at Natt before fleeing the scene.
One of the two suspects also might have waved a gun in the air, police said, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Natt was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and released, the report added. He told detectives with the help of an interpreter that his assailants “asked him for some type of money” before attacking him.
The incident has raised concerns within the Sikh community about being targeted as victims of hate crimes.
“That is a hate crime,” Natt’s son-in-law Manjeet Singh Virk said, Fox40 news reported.
Natt’s family has said that the old man will no longer continue his early morning walks but they are touched by the community support.
In a statement, Darryl McAllister said that the family is devastated to hear the news of his son’s involvement in the crime.
He released a statement through the police department’s Facebook page:
“Words can barely describe how embarrassed, dejected, and hurt my wife, daughters, and I feel right now. Violence and hatred is not what we have taught our children; intolerance for others is not even in our vocabulary, let alone our values. Crime has never been an element of our household, our values, nor the character to which we hold ourselves.”
This incident happened within a week of another attack on a Sikh man in the United States. Surjit Malhi, 50, was hit in the head with a rod several times while his attackers uttered racial slurs, saying “You are not welcome here,” and “Go back to your country.”
The details of the incident were shared on the social media by an acquaintance of the victim. Malhi later said that his turban saved his life.
The Sikh community has expressed anguish over the recent hate crime incidents. “We are disturbed and appalled by the recent attacks on Sikh-Americans,” National Sikh Campaign co-founder Rajwant Singh said, PTI reported. “The fact that Sahib Singh was assaulted and had his turban ripped off his head should be a peaceful call to action for our community and the many supporters of our campaign — Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike. This situation serves as a painful reminder that there is still much work to be done in bringing Americans of all faiths, colours, and communities together.”