A Sikh civil rights group has filed a complaint with Fairfax County police after an officer allegedly used a religious slur to justify searching a man outside of a Centreville bar.
The complaint, filed last week, stems from an Oct. 5 dispute between Inderpal Singh Chawla and a bouncer at O’Tooles Restaurant Pub and Billiards. It alleges Chawla was turned away from the establishment after refusing toremove his turban. During the confrontation, a patron commented that he “probably has a bomb on his head,” according to the complaint. A nearby officer then told Chawla to “turn around and put his hands on the wall,” according to the document.
“Mr. Chawla responded ‘are you serious?’ To which the police officer stated, ‘Yes, apparently you have a bomb on your head,’ ” the complaint said.
The officer is not named in the Oct. 24 complaint, filed by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Fairfax County police have begun an administrative investigation into the group’s claim, said Lt. Chris Marsh, commander of the department’s internal affairs investigations division. Marsh would not comment on specifics of the case. The review, he said, could take as long as 60 to 90 days.
“We have a strict policy against any sort of racial or religious discrimination. We take it very seriously,” he said. “This case will be investigated as thoroughly as possible.”
But neither side has been able to identify the officer, which could complicate any investigation. The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund was able to describe the officer only as a “white male,” according to Marsh.
The inability to name him “doesn’t inspire any confidence in us that the investigation is going to go well,” said Rajbir Singh Datta, the group’s national director. The department receives a “tremendous number of baseless complaints,” though all are taken seriously, said Marshall Thielen, president of the county’s police union. Thielen said he was not familiar with Chawla’s case. Practicing Sikh men refrain from cutting their beards or hair, which is often wrapped and covered with a turban.
Neither Chawla nor the owner of O’Tooles Restaurant Pub and Billiards could be reached for comment on Thursday.
