Elderly Sikh Man Beaten Bloody with Golf Club on L.A. Street — and Community Wants It Investigated as Hate Crime By KC Baker

A man with an “extensive” criminal rap sheet, according to the LAPD, is accused of brutally attacking an elderly Sikh man in Los Angeles with a golf club, leaving him bloodied and hospitalized — and community members want police to investigate the incident as a hate crime.

Harpal Singh, 70, was taking his daily walk near the Sikh Gurdwara of Los Angeles in North Hollywood when he was violently attacked on Monday, Aug. 4, according to The Sikh Coalition.

After the attack, he was videotaped sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk, covered in blood and holding the golf club in one hand.

Singh suffered a skull fracture and internal bleeding in the brain, according to his family, the Los Angeles Times reports.

He was placed into a medically induced coma and underwent three surgeries. 

At a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 12, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell announced that Richard Vitagliano, 44, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting Singh with a deadly weapon.

His arrest came after police viewed surveillance camera footage of the attack on Lankershim Blvd. allegedly showing Vitagliano riding up to Singh on a bike, CBS News Los Angeles reports.

The bike was found in the area later that night, when Vitagliano was taken into custody, according to CBS Los Angeles.

“Vitagliano has an extensive criminal record for narcotics, assault with a deadly weapon as well as various weapons charges,” McDonnell said at the press conference.

“Based on the evidence” in this case, he said, North Hollywood detectives believe the assault “was not a hate crime at least (from) what’s been determined at this stage.”

Instead, he said, detectives believe the attack was motivated by an alleged dispute over property belonging to the victim.

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That determination has not sat well with L.A.’s Sikh community.

“In the Sikh Coalition’s view, it is impossible to completely rule out that this is a hate crime at this stage,” the Sikh Coalition wrote in an Aug. 12 post on its website.

Singh remains unconscious and cannot sit for a full interview with police to discuss his recounting of the incident, the statement noted.

“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.”

Dr. Gurdial Singh Randhawa, Singh’s brother, said in the statement that he is grateful that police have arrested a suspect “for the horrific assault of my brother, but we need to better understand this attack and why it is not being considered a hate crime. 

“Justice must be served, and our local Sikh community must know that the area around our gurdwara — where we gather to worship, learn, connect, eat, and serve others — is safe for all.”

The investigation remains ongoing.