BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — A Bellingham man pleaded not guilty on Dec. 13 to a hate crime after the assault of a Sikh American Uber driver.
The Bellingham Herald reports 22-year-old Grifin Sayers entered the plea in Whatcom County Superior Court to charges of malicious harassment and assault.
Court documents say on Dec. 5 the driver took Sayers to get fast food and cigarettes, then brought him back to his apartment. Documents say Sayers then grabbed and choked the driver while making comments about the driver’s dark skin and Indian descent. The driver escaped and called 911.
The driver told police he believes his race prompted the attack, records said.
Officers later found Sayers on the back porch of his apartment and arrested him, court records said. Investigators believe he had been drinking, according to records.
When asked about the incident, documents say Sayers said he rode in the Uber driver’s vehicle, but denied assaulting him.
Sayers was released from Whatcom County Jail on Dec. 6 on $13,000 bail, according to court records.
“There’s a lot of uneasiness in the community,” said Jasmit Singh, a Sikh leader from Olympia. The incident, he said, has left the local community feeling shaken. Singh said that there are a significant number of Sikh Americans in his area who turn to taxi driving and rideshare apps as an “independent way to earn an honest living.”
Washington state is home to over 60,000 Sikhs and 15 gurdwaras, or Sikh houses of worship.
Singh said the attack is “not an isolated case.” Hate-fueled attacks against Sikh taxi drivers in Washington occurred in 2007 and 2012. Two years ago, a Sikh man was shot in his own driveway by an attacker who told him to “go back to your own country.”