A local American-Islamic group claims the assault on a Muslim taxi driver in front of a Newport Beach business on March 19 should be investigated as a hate crime.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) greater Los Angeles office released a statement Monday stating that a Muslim taxi driver was assaulted after being questioned about his religion when he went to pick up a cab fare at the La Habana Cigar Co. in Newport Beach.
The statement said CAIR had contacted the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the Orange County Human Relations Commission and the Newport Beach Police Department, asking for the incident to be investigated as a hate crime.
Newport Beach police Sgt. Steve Burdette said the incident currently is being investigated as battery, and has not been listed as a hate crime.
Detectives are gathering statements from the victim, suspects and witnesses, he said.
If, in the course of the investigation, it is deemed necessary, police would typically bring in the FBI, Burdette said.
“Detectives are working on (the case) right now,” he added.
An official from the Department of Justice said there is a public inquiry line to file a complaint, but that all current cases are confidential and the department cannot confirm or deny an investigation is under way.
According to officials from the Los Angeles CAIR, the cab driver was verbally confronted by a man claiming to be the owner of the cigar lounge after he asked if someone had requested a taxi.
The driver told CAIR officials that a woman confirmed she had called a cab and when the he stepped out of his vehicle to talk with her, three men approached him, pushed him and verbally threatened him, according to CAIR.
According to other witness reports, though, the altercation allegedly started after one or more additional taxi drivers contended for the fare, became verbally confrontational and bystanders got involved, fighting with the first cab driver.
CAIR officials reported that the men involved repeatedly asked the cab driver what his religion was and where he was from.
When he tried to retreat to his cab and call 911, the men followed and attacked him, according to the CAIR statement.
Once inside his taxi, one of the other men “allegedly sat in the passenger seat behind him, placed him in a headlock and proceeded to punch him,” the statement claims.
The other men also began punching him, CAIR officials said, before the man who claimed to be the owner allegedly said “Stop, we’ve (messed with) him enough.”
According to other unconfirmed reports, the owner of the cigar lounge, Edgar Uria, got involved after he saw the altercation involving the cab driver and three other men, and was trying to break up the fight.
“The victim sought medical treatment for facial and head injuries,” according to the CAIR statement. “Since the incident, he has missed work and reports that he is afraid to go to work.”
Uria could not be reached for comment.
