Words by: Jessica Dupree
Three Exxon employees have officially been charged with assault in a September 20 attack on two black women. The Allegheny County district attorney’s office charged 50-year-old Scott Hill with two counts of simple assault, 40-year-old Balkhar Singh with one count of simple assault, and 35-year old Sukhjinder Sadhra with two counts of simple assault.
North Side Pittsburgh residents Jamila Regan, 25, and Ashia Regan 27, were attacked during an altercation after the women demanded a full refund of $17 when the gas pump that they were using malfunctioned and spilled fuel.
According to The Pittsburg Post-Gazette, Policed said that after reviewing multiple video footage of the confrontation, it was shown that a female customer initiated the confrontation inside the store that escalated outside and became violent.
Video footage obtained by police from bystanders shows one of the women being struck in the back of the head multiple times, being held down on the ground and hit repeatedly, and one employee dragging a victim by the hair across the pavement.
Stephen A. Zappala, a spokesman for the District Attorney, issued a statement that “Under no circumstances is it acceptable for anyone, regardless of gender or race, to be assaulted in the way that is depicted in the video and such behavior will not be tolerated in Allegheny County.”
The sisters are said to be “traumatized and physically in pain” according to their cousin Annette Regan. Protestors are planning a community meeting on Wednesday at a Northside resource center.
