Indian American Sikh Woman Claims Racial Discrimination From Police

Sim Sangha (KNTV)
Sim Sangha (Photo Courtesy: KNTV)

An Indian American sikh woman said she was questioned by California police after she asked to buy some ammunition for her AR-15 rifle.

Sim Sangha, 24, is a certified firearms instructor and believes she was racially profiled in Fremont, California, after a conversation with a Dick’s Sporting Goods employee about AR-15 ammunition led to a police visit to her home, reported KNTV-TV.

“I’m Sikh. I’m Indian. I was born and raised in America. I’m a citizen here,” Ms. Sangha told NBC.

“I don’t know if it’s my skin color or that I’m Indian,” Sangha said. “I’m not a Muslim, but even if I were, that’s no reason to call police to my home, instantly.”

Sangha, who is preparing to join the Los Angeles Police Department, did not buy ammunition for her rifle — which is the same type of weapon used by a Muslim couple earlier this month to kill 14 co-workers and wound 17 others in San Bernardino.

She only bought an exercise mask at the sporting goods store, and she believes she was racially profiled.

“They singled me out because of the way I look,” Sangha said. “I’ve had friends buy bulk ammo, and they’ve never had police show up at their door.”

Police said the officers apologized to Sangha, but a spokeswoman for the department said they had a duty to investigate activity that residents considered “suspicious.”

The police spokeswoman said officers were on heightened alert following the mass shootings in Southern California, which investigators have linked to Islamic terrorism.

Dick’s Sporting Goods did not return The Indian Panorama’s requests for comment.

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