Sikh Family Reporting Burglarly is Handcuffed, References Made to Muslims and Mumbai Bombings

Sikh Coalition

Posted Dec 8, 2008      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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Sikh Family Reporting Burglarly is Handcuffed, References Made to Muslims and Mumbai Bombings

by Sikh Coalition

(Houston, Texas) December 8 , 2008 - A Sikh family that reported a burglary last week was handcuffed, asked about the bombings in Mumbai, and told by an officer that “he knows Muslims.” 

The Sikh Coalition strongly condemns the misbehavior of Harris County Sheriff’s Department officers towards the Sikh family. Their behavior sends a loud message to Sikhs, Muslims, and other minorities that they are second class citizens in Houston.

Handcuffs and a Taser Gun

At the beginning of the Thanksgiving weekend, the Tagore family came home to find a window broken and their master bedroom ransacked. When they called 911, HarrisCounty police officers were dispatched to investigate the crime.

But instead of pursuing the thieves, the police officers began grilling a family member, Kawaljeet Kaur, about her kirpan. Though Kawaljeet told the officer that her kirpan is an article of faith and it is her constitutional right to carry it, the officer ordered her to “shut up” and that he “doesn’t care.”  The officer called for back up and pointed a Taser gun at Kawaljeet’s head.
 

Kawaljeet offered to leave the house if her kirpan was bothering the officer to no avail.  Soon more officers arrived at their home.  HarrisCounty officers soon began handcuffing family members, four in all, including Kawaljeet’s sixty-year-old mother.  None of the other family members were carrying kirpans.
 

Kawaljeet was forced to the ground and handcuffed by three of the responding officers and a knee was put into her back.  Some officers also used extremely foul language repeatedly when speaking to the family.
 

An eight-year-old member of the Tagore family was in tears as she sadly witnessed her elder’s treatment by police officers.

 

Questions About Muslims and Mumbai

Officers asked the family whether they had “heard about the bombings in Bombay” and were told that they “knew about Muslims.”

Family members continued to plead that they are not criminals, asking in bewilderment when they were being treated like criminals. Hours after their initial call for help, a supervisor came to their home and ordered the family members released.  After hours in handcuffs, no family member was charged with a crime or arrested.

The Coalition Takes Action

The Sikh Coalition has been working to demand justice for the Tagore family.  The Coalition has taken the following actions in response to the incident:

- Demanded that an Internal Affairs investigation be conducted by the Harris County Police.  In response in part to the Coalition’s pressure, Internal Affairs officers came to the Tagore family home this past weekend to begin an investigation.  The CountyPolice have stated that officers can be disciplined and even fired as a result of the investigation’s findings.

- Worked with the mainstream media to place stories on the Tagore family’s treatment.  As a result, the Tagore family’s ordeal has been reported in the Houston Chronicle and local television. 

- Reported the incident to the United States Justice Department in part to ensure that all HarrisCounty police officers are trained on Sikhs and Sikh practices.

- Working with local city and federal elected officials to ensure the Department takes strong action against the officers.

The Coalition is outraged by this incident.  We will work hard to ensure the family receives justice for the treatment they suffered. 

 

As always, the Sikh Coalition calls on all Sikhs to stand up for their rights and fearlessly maintain their articles of faith.

Sikh Coalition http://www.sikhcoalition.org/

 

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