Indian-American Family Eyes Charges vs Racist at LAX

An Indian-American family is set to press charges against a woman who made racist remarks against them while onboard a shuttle bus at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

A video that went viral over the weekend showed a woman sitting on a shuttle bus at the airport while cussing and making racial remarks at Pervez Taufiq and his wife and three children.

In an interview with KTLA 5, Taufiq said the woman was on their flight from Mexico to Los Angeles when she initially approached his sons aged 4 and 8, telling them to shut up.

“She looked at our sons, the two younger ones aged 4 and 8, and basically started saying ‘shut up’ … and so, needless to say that really made me snap and I said ‘listen, you can’t talk to my sons that way,” Taufiq said.

He said the argument escalated when they were onboard the shuttle bus.

“We are Americans because I was born here and she (referring to his wife) was naturalized. Our sons are Americans. We’re proud of our country,” he noted.

Taufiq, a renowned photographer, said that he has never been treated that way. He believed that the woman was drunk during and after the flight. 

He also underscored that only one bystander stood up for his family before employees from United Airlines arrived and asked the woman to get off the bus.

“The takeaway for us definitively is [if you] see something, say something ‘stop it’ or try to stop it. Do your best because you could be next and you want everyone to be in your corner, right, when that happens?,” he noted.

In a separate interview with NBC News, Taufiq said that he was inclined to press charges after the woman’s identity was shared.

“What was most disappointing is that there’s no level of contrition, no level of remorse,” Taufiq was quoted as saying.

The woman gave an interview to LA Fox News affiliate Fox 11, admitting to the incident and pointing to a brain injury as the reason for the confrontation.

“Most people know me as a very kind, calm person, but since the brain injury I get agitated very easily,” she said.

She also accused Taufiq of verbally attacking her first with a derogatory term for white people.

Taufiq denied using any harmful terms, but said he did tell her to shut up after she yelled at his 4-year-old son.

“The one thing I don’t want my kids to do is see their dad lay down,” he said.