Satendar Singh

Satender Singh (July 21, 1980 - July 1, 2007), a gay man of Fijian descent, was attacked on July 1, 2007, while socializing with friends in Natoma Lake state park, near Sacramento, CA. Singh was punched by a man from another group in the park that had made racist and homophobic comments to Singh's group. Singh fell backwards, hit his head, and lapsed into a coma. Singh died of his injuries four days later when his family removed him from life support.

Satendar Singh

Born in Fiji, Singh moved to the United States in 2000. He settled in Sacramento, CA¹⁾ and worked at an AT&T call center.²⁾ On July 1, 2007, Singh and six friends, three couples of Indian and Fijian descent, were at Natoma Lake state park near Sacramento, to celebrate Singh's recent promotion at his call center job.³⁾

Singh was the only single member of his group, and was seen hugging and dancing with other men in his group. Another group in the park, made up of Russian immigrants was offended by Singh's dancing with men and women in his group, and made homophobic and racist comments to Singh and his friends.⁴⁾

Bystander Wolfgang Chargin witnessed the exchanges between Singh's group and the Russian group, and called 911 to warn that a fight was likely to occur. Chagrin witnessed the escalating conflict between the two groups as they used the picnic area, and said that the Russian group seemed especially offended by Singh's activity. At one point, when Singh's group went into the water, some of the men in the Russian group walked over and spat on their blankets.

Chagrin emphasized that Singh's group was never aggressive, though they were confronted several times.⁵⁾

As the conflict grew more heated, Chagrin packed up his family and left the park, but not before notifying a worker at the gate kiosk that the shouting match was escalating into a shoving match.

Around 8:00 p.m., Singh's group was leaving the area when some of th men from the Russian group confronted them. in the parking lot.⁶⁾ A friend of Singh's, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said the confrontation began when two members of their group returned from a nearby bathroom when two men from the Russian group “saying something” to them.

The men were angry that two of the men in Singh's group allegedly kissed each other, and they demanded an apology. Singh's friends denied anyone kissed and refused to apologize. That, they said is when the homophobic and racist taunts – such as “Sodomites” and “7-11” – began. One of the men threatened them, saying, “If there weren't any park rangers here you'd see what I would do, we're waiting for you.”⁷⁾

At that point, Singh responded to the insults, and the two men turned on him. According to witnesses, the two men said to Singh that they belonged to a Russian evangelical church and that he should go to a “good church” like theirs. According to several witnesses, the men sent their wives and children home and called for several more Slavic men on their cell phones.

When members of Singh's group – which included a pregnant woman – tried to leave the men blocked them with their bodies. The woman said to the men that she didn't want to fight them, and one of them said to her “We don't want to fight you either, we just want your faggot friend.”⁸⁾

One of the Russian men then threw a beer into the face of a member of Singh's group, and then "sucker punched" Singh. As Singh fell to the pavement, the two men ran away. Singh struck his head on a concrete sidewalk when he fell.⁹⁾

Andrey Vusik and Aleksander Shevchenko

On August 7, police held a press conference to announce developments in the investigation. Police said that Andrey Vusik, 29, was wanted in connection with the attack on Singh. ¹⁰⁾ Vusik fled the United States and is believed to have returned to Russia. A warrant has been issued for Vusik's arrest, and he is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Evidence did not show any intent to kill Singh, but police believe Vusik threw the fatal punch.¹¹⁾

Police also announced that Alexander Shevchenko, 21, another suspect, had been located and arrested on August 6 and charged with committing a hate crime.

Vusik faces a maximum of eight years in prison, and Schevenko faces up to three years in prison.¹²⁾

Gay activists have claimed that Singh's attackers have ties to a Sacramento-centered evangelical movement among Russian and Latvian immigrants calling themselves The Watchmen on the Walls. According to witnesses, one of Singh's attackers bragged about their membership in a Russian evangelical church.¹³⁾

Vusik's wife, Tayana, claimed that the attack on Singh was not a hate crime, and that her husband acted in self defense. Mrs. Vusik said she, her sister and the children left the park shortly after the exchange began. When Vusik came home, he told here there was a confrontation during which he thre w a “soft punch” and then ran away. Vusik said Singh was he first to mention the term “gay” as a crude sexual advance.¹⁴⁾ Members of Singh's group, according to Vusik's wife, were “really drunk and they were kissing,” and that Singh started smashing bottles.

She said that Singh and his friends started cursing and swearing at her family and saying “go back to Russia.” “It would be very uncommon for our family to tolerate this kind of behavior. Vusic blamed Sacramento's gay communiy for “exaggerating this matter,” adding “I personally think this argument had nothing to do with gay.” Vusick claimed her husband's trip to Russia had been planned before the attack, but admitted he was afraid to return and face the charges.

A friend of Singh's, who spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation countered Vusik's story, saying that that Shevchenko and Vusik taunted saying “You guys are gay. You guys are faggots.¹⁵⁾

The Watchmen on the Walls organization is composed of some of California's approximately 200,000 Russian-speaking immigrants.¹⁶⁾ In the U.S., the group's following of Russian-speaking evangelicals has become increasingly active in gay-friendly cities like Sacramento, Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR. Vlad Kusakin, host of a Russian-language radio show in Sacramento, said that God has “made an injection” of anti-gay Slavic evangelicals into liberal West Coast cities, adding “In places where the disease is progressing, God has made a divine penicillin.”¹⁷⁾

In the summer of 2006 a Russian-Language newpaper in Sacramento, The Speaker, urged readers to attend an anti-gay rally, saying “Make a choice. It's your decision. Homosexuality is knocking on your doors and asking: 'Can I make your son gay and your daughter lesbian?'” At the rally, thousands of Russian-speaking teenagers crowded the halls of the Capitol building, wearing t-shirts that read “Sodomy is a sin” and carrying signs reading “Perversion is never safe” and “I am not learning about gay people.”¹⁸⁾

Scott Lively, chief envoy for the Watchmen movement, is the former director of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, which formed in the mid-90s and in 1994 nearl succded in passing a state ballot initiative declaring gay people “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse,” and requiring the state to terminate all openly gay public school teachers. Lively is most widel known for co-authoring The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, which asserts that Adolf Hitler was homosexual, that gay facists were central in forming the Nazi Party, and orchestrating the Holocaust.

Singh was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center and treated for internal bleeding and severe brain damage. He slipped into a coma. Shortly afterwards, on July 1, Singh died of his injuries. ¹⁹⁾

On July 6, over 300 people attended a vigil at the World Peace Garden, in memory of Singh. Speakers included Muslim leaders, Sikh leaders, state Senator Darrell Steinberg , Assemblymember Dave Jones, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, and Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada.²⁰⁾ Singh was also a topic of discussion at the West Coast Diversity Summit on July 27, an event planned months before the attack on Singh.²¹⁾

Shevchenko returned to court on October 16.²²⁾ Shevchenko pleaded not guilty to a felony hate crime charge, and was ordered to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on November 27, to determine whether he should go to trial.²³⁾

Law enforcement officials said that Shevchenko did not throw the punch that brought about Singh's death, but that he contributed to the crime. Singh supporters left the trial questioning why there was only one defendant.²⁴⁾ Vusic remains at large in Russia, and a spokesperson for the Sacramento Sheriff's Department said the department has contacted the FBI for assistance in finding Vusik.²⁵⁾

On November 27, 2007, Shevchenko appeared in court, but a judge ruled that his case would be moved to December 11, 2007.²⁶⁾ On December 12, 2007, Judge John A. Mendez determined that there was enough evidence to try Shevchenko in the hate crime that led to Singh's death. Prosecutors said that Singh was singled out because he was seen acting affectionately and dancing with men. The defense attorney said that Singh and his group were dancing in a way that simulated gay sex near Shevchenko's group, who had come to the park after church.²⁷⁾

Shevcheko's defense attorney filed a brief with the court contesting the the hate crime charges against her client. The brief compared the confrontation in Natoma park to the rivalry between Stanford and UC Berkeley, said that “The event could have happened anywhere in America,” and accused the prosecution of “attempting to bootstrap a tragic conflict that resulted in a death into a hate crime.” Shevchenko remained free on $25,000 bail as authorities continued to search for Vusik.²⁸⁾

The ruling angered members of the local Slavic community, who said the case had been exaggerated by politics. “Word to Russia,” radio broadcaster Michael Lokteff said, “It's just basically 'hang the Russian.' This young man is going to be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness. I just don't think justice is going to be done.” Lotkeff, who has ties to local Slavic pastors compared the judge's ruling to courts that operated under communism, and were influenced by politics instead of the rule of law.²⁹⁾

Shevcheko told The Sacramento Bee, “I am innocent; I had nothing to do with it. I'm on the front page like I am some kind of murderer, but I never touched anybody.” He said that he had lost his job as a painter with Sears, his car, and 20 lbs. since the incident “messed up my life,” and that he was the victim of “political correctness.”³⁰⁾

On December 19, 2007, Shevchenko's two private attorneys stepped down from his defense after Shevchenko told them he could no longer afford their services. Judge David De Alba ordered a panel of attorneys to assign private counsel to Shevchenko after the Public Defender's Office said none of its lawyers were available. Shevchenko was scheduled to return to court on January 4, 2008.³¹⁾

On May 27, 2008, jurors and courtroom attendees watched a home video of Singh playfully dancing to Hindi music with men and women, during the July 2007 picnic that preceded the confrontation resulting in his death. Romil Sharma, who was at the park with Singh's group that day testified Vusik wanted Singh to apologize for his behavior. When Singh refused, Shevchenko followed with homophobic comments. Sharma said he did not want to fight, and tried to defuse hostilities between the groups.

Sharma said that when the women and children in Shevchenko's group left the park, three other men showed up. He started to call 911 when he heard a noise. When Sharma looked up Vusik had punched Singh, who fell back and hit his head. Afterward, Vusik and Shevchenko ran away, but that Shevchenko paused, turned toward him, and threw a glass bottle that nearly hit him in the head.

Defense attorney Michael D. Long countered that Singh had “instigated” the ordeal by being drunk and “dirty dancing” with other men, and responded with foul language when the Slavic group asked him to stop. Long described one witness as saying that that Singh “flipping off the Russians and using expletives.”³²⁾

On June 12, 2008, the case against Shevchenko went to the jury of five men and seven women, who would determine whether Singh's death resulted from a hate crime and whether Shevchenko should be held responsible.³³⁾ On June 18, a mistrial was declared on hate crime charges against Shevchenko, when the jury told Judge Garry S. Mullen that they were hopelessly deadlocked on whether Shevchenko was involved in the confrontation because he believed Singh was gay, with seven believing he was guilty of a hate crime and five believing he was not.³⁴⁾ Shevchenko was found guilty of misdemeanor assault and disturbing the peace.³⁵⁾

On August 1, 2008, Shevchenko was sentenced to 150 days in jail in connection with Singh's death.³⁶⁾ Shevchenko's attorney asked judge Mullen to place his client on a 90-day work program. However, Mullen said that while Shevchenko may have been provoked he could have walked away, but “he wanted revenge.” ”(Shevchenko) took justice into his own hands and now somebody is dead,” Mullen said. Mullen said that parts of the case had been misrepresented, noting that none of Singh's friends testified that he was gay. He added that some of Singh's friends could have been charged with disorderly conduct, but concluded that Shevchenko acted like a bully.³⁷⁾ He was also sentenced to three years probation and fined $100.

The Sacramento District attorney's office later announced that it would not retry Shevchenko on the hate crime charge. A news release from District Attorney Jan Scully stated that “reasonable likelihood that a re-trial would lead to a unanimous verdict on the issue.”³⁸⁾

• Santendar Singh Vigil
• Lake Natoma Video
• Shevchenko Verdict

• Satendar Singh - Victim of Hate Crime, July 1, 2007, Out Sacramento

• "Making Myths: Anti-gay religious crusaders claim homosexuals helped mastermind the Holocaust. They're not telling the truth.", Intelligence Report, The Southern Poverty Law Center, Spring 2005.