Sikh man shot dead by LA police while ‘performing martial art Gatka’ on road
Gurpreet Singh allegedly failed to comply with officers' orders and charged at them with a machete on a busy street in Los Angeles on July 13
A Sikh man was fatally shot by the Los Angeles police in July after he was seen waving a 27-inch-long machete in the middle of the road.
He was reportedly seen performing what appeared to be Gatka, a traditional Sikh martial art involving swords, in the middle of a busy downtown intersection. The shooting has sparked questions about police use of force and possible cultural misunderstandings.
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Bodycam footage of incident
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has released bodycam and surveillance footage of the July 13 incident that resulted in the death of 35-year-old Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Arcadia in a resident of California.
According to LAPD, Singh stopped his car in the middle of traffic, exited, and began swinging a two-foot sword, described by police as a machete but identified by some as a double-edged sword used in Gatka.
The incident reportedly occurred shortly after 9 am near Crypto.com Arena at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard.
Bodycam footage shows Singh, wearing a vest, shorts, and a blue turban, waving the blade in what appeared to be martial arts movements and at one point seemingly cutting his own face.
Witnesses told police he was threatening passers-by, prompting multiple 911 calls.
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Car chase
Officers Michael Orozco and Nestor Espinoza Bojorquez arrived and repeatedly ordered Singh to drop the weapon, but he failed to comply.
Instead, he threw a water bottle at them, re-entered his car, and fled, waving the machete out of his window. A brief pursuit followed, during which Singh drove erratically, hitting multiple vehicles, including a police car.
The chase ended at Figueroa and 12th streets, where Singh stopped his car, got out while still armed with the machete, and charged at the officers with the sword raised.
Both officers ordered him to stop, and then opened fire, striking him multiple times. Singh was taken to a nearby hospital with gunshot wounds and died of his injuries on July 17. No officers or bystanders were injured.
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Investigation underway
The machete was recovered at the scene and was booked as evidence. It was later identified as a khanda, a double-edged sword used in Indian martial arts.
Gatka, rooted in Sikh martial traditions, involves weapons such as swords and sticks and is commonly performed at religious and cultural events.
The LAPD has launched an internal investigation to determine whether the use of lethal force met departmental standards.
Community reactions have been divided, some viewing Singh’s actions as threatening, while others say he was practising a traditional martial art and question why non-lethal options were not used.
LAPD officials, however, said Singh’s refusal to comply with commands and his charge at officers justified the use of lethal force, citing an imminent threat to public safety.