Sikh man performing Gatka on road shot dead by police in Los Angeles; incident captured in body cam footage

Body cam footage released by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) revealed a shocking incident where a Sikh man was shot dead by police after he was reportedly brandishing a large blade in the middle of a busy street. The incident, captured on an officer’s body camera, occurred on July 13, according to ABC7. It grabbed attention after a video surfaced online. The victim was identified as Gurpreet Singh.

According to media reports and footage released by police, Singh was performing Gatka, a traditional Sikh martial art. He had stopped his car at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard near Crypto.com Arena. In the video footage, he was seen waving a 2-foot-long sword, which was later identified as a khanda, a double-edged blade used in Indian martial arts.




After receiving reports of a man in the middle of the street waving a machete, officers responded to Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard. According to ABC7, the 911 callers said that the 35-year-old man, Gurpreet Singh, had stopped his car in the middle of the intersection, got out, and was swinging the machete at people. In a video shared on the Los Angeles Police Department's YouTube channel, at one point, Singh appeared to cut his tongue with the huge knife.

Police gave multiple warnings

While giving an update about the incident, police said, "Officers gave multiple commands for Singh to drop the weapon," as quoted by ABC7. "However, he failed to comply. Singh then returned to his vehicle, retrieved a water bottle, and threw it at the officers." The police further stated that Singh then took off in his car, waving the machete outside the driver's side window.

Brief vehicle pursuit

Police stated that officers had begun a small pursuit in which Singh "drove erratically" and crashed into an officer's vehicle. Officers claimed that the man stopped near Figueroa and 12th streets and charged at them with the machete. As the whole incident unfolded, gunfire erupted. Singh was shot and was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The 2-foot-long machete was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.

No injuries were reported due to the incident. According to ABC7, the officers involved in the incident were identified as Central Area Police Officer IIs Michael Orozco and Nestor Espinoza Bojorquez. The investigation of the shooting incident was underway.