Sikh Uber Driver Racially Abused In Washington

In the coastal city of Bellingham, Washington, on Thursday morning, a Sikh Uber driver had a terrifying ride when a passenger began assaulting him and made racially charged verbal abuses. The Sikh driver picked one Griffin Levi Sayers near Barkley Boulevard. Around 4 AM police received a 911 call from the driver saying that his passenger had attacked him.

The Police arrested and booked 22-year-old Sayers on the charge of second-degree assault and failure-to-appear warrant for fourth-degree assault. According to police records, the driver told the police that Sayers took the cab to make some purchases and then returned to the pick-up location. The passenger became abusive and grabbed the driver by his throat violently. He made racial comments about the driver’s brown Skin. The Sikh driver somehow escaped and made a 911 call. When the police arrived, they located Sayers nearby and arrested him. He was released on $13,000 bail on Friday evening.

Hate crimes against Sikhs in America have always been on the radar. The last month's report presents the statistic that the Sikh community is the 3rd most targeted group in the country after Jews and Muslims. Anti-Sikh hate crimes rose by 200 percent since 2017, according to an FBI report. This is even after Sikh groups and minority organizations have been attempting to educate Americans on Sikhism. Sikhs are often mistakenly targeted because of their turbans.