Man charged with hate crime at Fremont Taco Bell

FREMONT, Calif. - A man has been charged with a hate crime after verbally abusing a customer at a Fremont Taco Bell.

Singh Tejinder, a 37-year-old Union City resident, was caught on video berating a customer for his appearance and assumed religion during the Aug. 21 incident.

Officers said they were called to the active argument between two men around 8:20 p.m. at the fast-food restaurant located on the 40000 block of Grimmer Blvd.

Initially, they deescalated the situation and separated the men. Based on the information the officers had at the time, a hate crime could not be established. No physical threats were made by the second individual, and he was not arrested.

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However, while interviewing one of the men afterwards, it was confirmed that a disparaging comment about a particular religion was made during the argument.

Further investigation revealed that Tejinder had used extremely offensive and hurtful language toward the person holding the camera.

Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged Tejinder with a hate crime in violation of civil rights and disturbing the peace by offensive language.

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Tejinder is on probation but is not currently in custody. A court date has been set, officials said.

If anyone has information regarding this incident, please contact Sergeant Kim Macdonald at 510-790-6802.