First Matthew Shepherd. Now Satendar Singh?
??
Satendar Singh, a 26-year-old Fiji national who had won a visa to the United States through the immigration lottery, died July 5 at Mercy San Juan Medical Center near Sacramento, Calif., after a four-day struggle to recover from head trauma he suffered July 1 following what has been described as a hate crime at Lake Natoma…Singh, who was picnicking July 1 with six friends of Fijian and Indian descent at a picnic area near Lake Natoma, was fatally injured in an assault during what witnesses told the Sacramento Bee was an ugly verbal attack laced with racist and homophobic slurs…
Despite his last name, Singh wore neither a turban nor a beard, aside from a small goatee. As he and his friends settled in to enjoy an early Fourth of July celebration, the Russian men began making several racial and homophobic remarks to Singh.
“I’m not pretty sure, but I think (Singh) responded by saying he wasn’t a gay,” one of Singh’s friends who witnessed the incident and who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, told India-West. “I told them we had come to enjoy the day and that we didn’t want to get into a fight or something, and I thought it was all over…”“They were targeting him because Satendar was dancing to Indian music throughout the rest of the day, like the rest of us…I don’t know what (the Russians) were saying or if Satendar said something back, but then it happened,” the witness said.[Link]
Whether or not Singh was gay isn’t clear, nor does it matter in the event the motive turns out to be homophobia. Elizabeth Edwards, who was campaigning for her husband in the Bay Area, used the opportunity to cite Singh in a speech railing against President Bush’s inaction on hate crime legislation:
Elizabeth Edwards told a prominent gay rights group Saturday night that her husband, presidential candidate John Edwards, would help repeal more than a thousand laws that discriminate against same-sex couples…The next day, her husband, John Edwards, said her position surprised even him. The former North Carolina Sen. opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions.
Citing the story of a Sacramento man who died after witnesses said he was beaten to death by men who thought he was gay, Edwards slammed President Bush for not doing anything to help protect gays and lesbians against violence.
“This president talks a lot about good and evil and the need to seek out evil doers,” she told a packed auditorium. “But he doesn’t seem to recognize the evil in hate crimes. The right to live without the fear of being murdered for whom we love is not a special right…” [Link]
What I find really peculiar about this story is that there doesn’t seem to be any effort to verify if he was really gay, or simply stereotyped as gay because he was “dancing to Indian music.” If dancing to Indian music makes one gay then it’s something we ought to know, right? Here is another article with the glaring headline: “Gay Immigrant Satendar Singh Killed in Holiday Hate Crime.” Regardless, there is now an effort to update the laws:
“If the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department asked for help from the federal government in this case, federal law enforcement officials could get involved if the crime turns out to be motivated by racial bias, but not if it was prompted only by anti-LGBT bias,” said Kors. “That gross inconsistency needs to change.”
Last week, Assembly member Mike Eng introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 29, sponsored by EQCA, which calls on the federal government to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, the federal measure would expand the nation’s hate crimes protections to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. It would also boost local law enforcement tools and resources to investigate and prosecute acts of violence against all protected communities of people. [Link]
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The LA times article is good background: “For Gays, a Loud New Foe. Sacramento’s large enclave of immigrant Slavic evangelicals is becoming a force on social issues. Their actions shock many.” is available here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-russgay13oct13,0,3388537,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
The Sacramento Sheriff’s report is available here: http://www.sacsheriff.com/media/0703_leadrole.cfm
18 days since the murder and no arrests.
What bothers me is that no detailed descriptions of the perpetrators has been made public or police sketches of the faces. There were at least 7 witnesses – the 6 in Mr. Singh’s party and the man that phoned 911.
Sacramento is having a “Diversity Summit” to “strengthen our community against hate crimes” Saturday. Here is a link to the flier: http://www.outsacramento.com/summit7-21-07.JPG
-Mark
This is simply amazing. Not even a character sketch? What the hell is going on? What kind of friends does he have? You know as the media keeps hammering on the same old 4 or 5 cases of missing or dead white women, why can’t the local media at least find a good story in this? I find this case outrageous and it’s not even just because it involves an Indian guy.
Ya thats another thing that struck me as really odd. With those many witnesses nobody can figure what these guys look like (are for that matter taking down a plate #…which under the circumstances is understandable).
Now I’m not an detective or anything (just a lowly undergrad who’s “car crazy”), though if I were, I would have at least identified the car’s first. The witnesses obviously have some sort of idea what it looks like if they could identify the make from the symbol alone. From there, I would cross reference DMV files for certain criteria that would fit the suspects: 1) Names – They were likely to be ethnic Russians, and as such would have had Russian sounding names. 2) Prior Incidents – Search for cars that are linked to drivers with a prior history of criminal incidents, especially in areas with a high density of Russians.
At the very least, advise the local beat cops to be on the lookout for a Red Mitsubishi in areas that are densely populated by Russian denizens.
Not a lot to by I know, but from I’ve read, I don’t think they have even the slightest idea where to start
If these idiot friends took the trouble to see that the car is a Red Mistubishi with a sticker on the back, couldnt they describe whether the car was a sedan , coupe, or SUV at least? Whether it was shiny and new or old? What state license plate even if they couldnt see the number? Number of guys who were in the car? Height? Weight?
This is a joke. I am not going to blame the victim. BUt I sure as hell am going to blame these friends for not playing a bigger role in capturing these guys. THey are afraid of retribution? Why? These guys got away scott free. You think they will risk being caught again just because some friend’s name was used in the paper?And this is the key thing. They obviously had some tensions all day. So it’s not like some gang members showed up in the dark and ran away after a sudden sucker punch.
Tryin’ to keep this story from being buried by… eyebrows.
I received this message today from one of the email lists I belong to:
SATENDAR JUSTICE COALITION REPORT OF ACTION:
Representatives from the Satendar Justice Coalition met with Sheriff John McGinness on Tuesday, July 17 regarding the Satendar Singh alleged Hate Crime murder investigation. As a reminder, the Coalition was created in the wake of Satendar’s death, and consists of people representing the LGBT, African American, Muslim, Sikh, Faith leaders, and API leaders, among others. The group walked away from the meeting with renewed confidence that the Sherriff was treating this investigation with the importance that it deserves.
Sheriff McGinness assured the group that his department was aggressively investigating the crime. They are placing a great deal of emphasis, from various resources in the sheriff’s department, on the case. We felt that Sheriff McGinness understood the importance of this investigation to the LGBT community. We voiced our concerns and our fears and felt that he was sympathetic to our needs and that he will do all in his power to ensure a positive outcome in this case. In addition, we are encouraged by his understanding and acknowledgement of the escalating volatility of anti-gay protests by members of the Slavic fundamentalist community. Sheriff McGinness expressed his willingness to meet with the Slavic fundamentalist ministers and other leaders from that community to dissuade them from continuing to engage in the kind of rhetoric that incites people to overstep the bounds of civility and decency as they participate in their newly acquired freedom of expression.
It is vital, at this time, that we avoid any action, such as protesting or retaliating against the perceived perpetrators, that could hinder the investigation. Crimes where a Hate Crime statute may be invoked are very fragile and actions from the community at large can prove detrimental. The various LGBT leaders are asking for your patience while the investigation continues. We don’t want to threaten the support we are getting from the larger community by acting out of anger. We are working to ensure that justice is served and we are working to ensure that the LGBT community, or any minority community, in Sacramento, will never face this kind of hatred and violence again. Sheriff McGinness has pledged his support in our efforts. The next step is a meeting with District Attorney Jan Scully, on Monday, July 23rd, where we will voice the concerns of our communities at large.
Investigators continue to urge anyone with information about this case to call the Sheriff’s Department at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous.
This report received from the email list – Uptown Studios Community Update 7-20-07. http://www.qcrew.org
Today is the Diversity Summit in Sacramento. The local newspaper, Sacramento Bee has an article about it http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/284591.html
The article also talks about the differences of opinions on how to handle the situation. Some advocate a cautious investigation – finding the facts on who perpetrated the murder, was it really a hate crime, was it linked to the Russian/fundamentalist church teachings, and saying don’t make the victim a martyr. Others say this was a hate crime, the community needs action for the safety of minorities, the situation needs to stay in the public eye (like with the vigil), the cause and effect of the Russian/fundamental church is real, and even counter protests at the Russian/fundamentalist churches that teach anti-gay action.
counter protests in front of fundamentalist churches? well that’s jumping the gun and probably provoking even more tension.
Instead if the GLBT community is earnest they should ask for the orthodox’ communities help with this case–it would be a less confrontational move that would likely be the most positive for the case and would be the best move for the GLBT community with respect to some of the more orthodox teachings of some of these churches. If they reject appeals to help then it’ll show how pathetic it is they’d put their amorphous ideas of sin above an actual murder case. Creating an us vs them also probably won’t help in terms of finding his killer or future relations.
I’m glad to hear that his family does feel the police dept is earnestly trying though. Hopefully they’ll start find the killers responsible soon.
You know, there is no point even wasting time debating the hate crime nature. It is a hate crime. But even if it was debatable, who cares when the cops cant even catch the perpetrators who committed this crime in front of a ton of witnesses. Why is there so much press being wasted on whether this is a hate crime or not. Catch the freaking killers first. Then we can worry about what to charge them with.
Once again, I cannot say this enough. The victim had a sorry ass group of buddies.
The bad news: today marks 3 weeks to the day the crime was committed, with the criminals still at large.
The good news: the story is kept alive in the Sacramento area. Not to just dump a bunch of links here, but we had 3 excellent prominent articles in today’s newspaper, Sacramento Bee, and yesterday Channel 40 news gave excellent coverage of the Diversity Summit and Channel 10 gave coverage to the CAPITAL (Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership) meeting to discuss the issue.
Great news video at fox40.com July 21, 2007, note you have to look for the video on the list “7/21 – Sacramento Diversity Summit” http://fox40.trb.com/
Sunday July 22, 2007, the SacBee.com (free subscription required) publishes 3 prominent stories:
Hate assailed at summit Slavic bishop blasts prejudice in wake of Singh killing http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/285714.html
Tragedy of hate crime, murder rallies community By Darrell Steinberg – Special to The Bee http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/283945.html
Marcos Bretón: Community has stake in finding killer http://www.sacbee.com/breton/story/285405.html
CAPITAL, Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy and Leadership, met Saturday July 21, 2007 to discuss hate crime and the Satendar Singh crime. Although it made the News 10 tv news, there is not a story on their site. http://www.sactocapital.org/
Mark, do you have any idea why the authorities are not pressuring the friends of Singh to reveal more? How come no sketch? HOw can these friends just act like impotent morons? Have you heard anything serious from the local Indian community. From the links i read, it seems very minimal. Just a protest here or there. Even that latest link you put focuses on the Russian community not coming forward to give details. But what about the Indians who were there that day???????
Still taken aback that we have no new information.
Talk all you want about the issue.
BUT A KILLER IS STILL AT LARGER.
I really do hope that someone close to the friends can pressure them to rake their minds to figure out what the guy looked like.
Seriously how many who have gotten in a fight, don’t remember what the other guy looked like?
Anyways, I would like to congratulate the Sacramento Police for emulating the Indian model of law enforcement. Inept, and ineffective.
Just to point out the cluelessness of his so-called-friends:
“I’m not pretty sure, but I think (Singh) responded by saying he wasn’t a gay,†one of Singh’s friends who witnessed the incident…”
ARE YOU SERIOUS? These people better have been taking some serious g-bong rips before the incident to be this absent minded.
This case frustrates me to NO end.
Interesting choice of words.
Maybe you’re not aware of the size of the Russian community in Sacramento… fear of harassment is a legitimate concern.
None of us have had to endure the trauma of seeing a friend killed before our eyes, so let’s leave the harsh words out of it.
And why concentrate on the friends? What about the community? I’ve seen footage of a tribute put on by gay activists.
Where is the Sac-town South Asian community’s voice in this matter?
I have held the community to task too. Also the friends are cowards. I do not have to be in the same exact situation. But I have been in dangerous situations, just not ending in death. And I can extrapolate how I would react in this. And I would not be letting the cops remain in the dark what the killers look like. If you read the article, the cops do not even have a sketch of the suspects. What the hell?
I am not trying to derail the discussion here ( and I may have missed press coverage as I was traveling- so please excuse the question) but why isn’t there more outrage and publicity in the ( national) media over this whole horrifying incident? I am a self-confessed news junkie and this is the only place that I see this case being discussed. Whereas I remember the Laci Peterson and Natalie Holloway cases had – if anything – overexposure in the media -was Satendar not straight enough or white enough for his outrageous death to get coverage and maybe force someone to come forward with info?
Pravin, the group that later attacked Satendar was video taped earlier in the day. The police have pictures of the men and have the license plate numbers as well. His friends told the police everything they know. They were not cowards. It is just a matter of time before they are caught.
I believe an apology is due on my part. I wasn’t aware that the police already had the information. In my rush to judgment, I made some foolish remarks. For this I sincerely apologize.
Today marks the 1 month anniversary of the murder of Satendar Singh. A good news/op ed piece ran in today’s Sacramento Bee newspaper, page 1 Section B:
Marcos Bretón: Evading law isn’t Christian at sacbee.com (free subscription required) August 1, 2007 http://www.sacbee.com/breton/story/302389.html
I have many questions also –
Why did the story not get wider notice? It barely rippled in San Francisco, 80 miles away.
Why have the criminals not been caught?
If the group was in danger, why did they not leave? At least gather useful information for their case like photos, video (everyone has a cell phone these days) descriptions of people and cars, call the police.
The park gate keeper was notified of the disturbance. Why did she/he not become more alert and at least make notes of the the vehicles and occupants leaving a potential crime scene?
Why are the facts of the events not published? Descriptions and sketches of the criminals and events.
Local groups are trying to get the word out.
There was a public vigil held at the state capitol bulding.
The gay community held a public diversity summit and formed a committee to follow up with local sheriffs and police.
The Asian Pacific Islanders held a public meeting on the event.
The local newpaper Sacramento Bee has run about 7 good articles and all the local tv stations have covered various aspects of the case.
I don’t know all the facts. Although we hope people can get descriptions and license numbers, when violence erupts panic and emotion can blind us. And I am not suprised the California DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) was no help, their computer incompetence is well known.
Here is what I learned. Ignorance and hate still exist. We have to continue to look out for ourselves and others. When violence erupts we must be ready to defend ourselves by calling the police, fight or flight, documenting the incident with descriptions, photos, video, reporting the incident and not letting go of the incident.
Sacramento, California has been called one of the most diverse and tolerant communities in the USA. We still have work to do to make this country a more perfect union.
-Mark
More than a month now…
Breaking news: Suspect identified, 29 year old Andrey Vusik, has apparently fled the country.
From the local newspaper, Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com
Authorities say the man they’re looking for has fled the country.
A month after the death of Satender Singh on a river beach at Lake Natoma, Sacramento County Sheriff’s detectives have identified the man who allegedly threw the lethal punch and then fled the country, officials confirmed Tuesday.
http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/313268.html
Can’t wait to go visit this guy in jail.
I have a few words. Please don’t get mad at me Im just telling everyone what was told to me by people who where there. A few months now has passed One person is currently in custody the other one ( the guy that threw the punch is in his home country (coward ran away). I have read almost all the Sacramento bee articles regarding this incident and they all tell the story of the relatives of Satendar Singh. Yes the person that actually hit the deserver’s to go to jail for a long while but this was not a hate crime. This is the story of the people that where there i am not 100% correct but im sure that the Sacramento bee doesn’t have the whole story they like to cut out parts and focus more on other’s :). There where a few family’s of Russian’s (wait why am i calling the Russians they were from ….. Ukraine I believe ) they relaxing near lake natoma. They had there whole family children and all. Near them Satendar Singh has having a party with his realities friends, everything was ok until some of the people or person at the party/celebration threw a empty glass bottle near the others family. The glass bottle broke into peaces and the glass scattered near some of the younger children. When the guys went to confront the people/person who threw the bottle they were taunted cursed at and so on. It is said that Satendar Singh and his friends where drunk. (not 100% sure) Well from hear is when you hear the story from the news the people sent there family’s away and well the fight happened where sadly Satendar Singh was punched falling unconsiance and hitting his head and dieing. Yes a person died and its sad. The guy that hit him should go to jail but this shouldn’t be classified as a hate crime because the fight didnt start because Satendar Singh was gay but becasue they felt that the people endangered there family’s and if you know any Russian (meaning all those Eastern Europeans or thats what Russian means these days) people if they fell threatened they will resort to violence.
Also on a second thought i have heard that the church is being blamed for this. I know for a sure that the guy that committed this horrendous crime is not a member of any church in Sacramento. And that if someone from any church was in this situation they would simply leave.
Sorry nano, that’s not what happened.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but after I’m involved in a violent melee where I’ve knocked someone unconscious, nothing clears my head like a nice long business trip to the motherland.
Please stop saying “Russian” and call them Russians, they are not even that, both suspects don’t even have Russian lastnames