|
Santa Fe Sikh says ‘race’ was
factor in his arrest
 SANTA FE:
A
44-year-old Santa Fe Sikh from India says a city police officer
overreacted earlier this month when he arrested him during an
incident that began when the man ran a stop sign.
In fact, Sarub
Singh said, he thinks the officer saw his dark skin and his turban
and jumped to conclusions about him. “I think maybe the problem was
that there are not very many Indian Sikhs with turbans (in the
Santa Fe area),” Singh said. “If I wore a white turban and was
white, it would have been different.”
However, Santa
Fe Deputy Police Chief Benjie Montaño said Officer Scott Waite’s
report indicates he followed proper procedure. Still, Montaño met
with Singh,who is charged with resisting arrest and running a stop
sign, and City Manager Galen Buller earlier this week. Montaño had
said last Wednesday that he’s looking into the arrest.
The incident
occurred about 9:50 p.m. May 1 when Waite, who was parked in the lot
of Tiny’s Restaurant and Lounge, 1015 Pen Road,
saw Singh’s 2008 Ford Mustang run a stop sign at Calle Grillo and
Early
Street, according to Waite’s police report. Waite pulled behind the
Mustang and turned on his flashing red lights, but the Mustang
speeded up and proceeded north, the report states.
Waite followed
the Mustang into a parking lot at 802 Early St., where it stopped,
according to the report. The officer started to call in the stop,
but put down the radio when he saw Singh exit the car. “I got out of
my car and told the driver to sit in his car,” Waite wrote in his
report. “He did not do so and instead asked what he had done.”
The report
indicates the officer told Singh to get back in his car twice more
before Singh started walking toward Waite, telling him, “Calm down,
officer.” The officer told Singh two more times to get back in the
Mustang, but Singh continued “closing distance toward me,” the
report says.
“I perceived his
walking towards me as a threat so I ran up to him and took hold of
his right arm and pushed him up against his car attempting to
control him and handcuff him,” the report states. “Singh would not
let me bring his arm back behind him and handcuff him.”
Singh said he
was on his way to his office to conduct business with people in
India at the time of the incident. He admitted he came to a rolling
“California stop” at the stop sign, but said he never saw the
officer behind him or the red flashing lights.
Singh said he
didn’t notice anything was amiss until he pulled into his office
parking lot, got out of his car and realized a cop was behind him
shouting. “I step out and he’s there and he’s ... yelling at me to
stay in the car,” Singh said. “In my panic, I lost my English for a
few seconds. I just froze.”
After the
officer told him for the third time to stay in the car, Singh said
he began to understand and started to get back in the car. Instead,
the officer told him, “Come here,” then placed him up against the
officer’s car and grabbed his arm. “I didn’t resist at all,” he
said. “I was just surprised. I was so docile.”
He said his arm
was in a sling for a period of time, and it still causes him pain as
do his shoulder and wrist.
Singh has taught
math and computer science at various high schools and colleges in
Northern New Mexico for about 15 years and lately has been trying
to attract Indian software companies to the area.
A group of
Indian businessmen was scheduled to come to Santa Fe later this
month and meet with the head of the city’s Chamber of Commerce, but
they now believe they’ll be hassled by police and will instead meet
Singh in
Los Angeles,
he said. “This guy (Waite) had an attitude,” Singh said. “He made
up his mind once he saw me.”
Montaño said
Waite is a good officer who has a clean record with the department.
21
May,
2008
|
Read Also
