An Indian American landlord in Milford, Connecticut become a victim of a hate crime during a building inspection when a man yelled at the officials who were inspecting the area on Feb. 13, according to The Milford Daily News.
“Burn the building down,” “Shoot that guy right there” and “These people are pigs, deport them all, where is I.C.E.?” the man said multiple times during the two-hour inspection, pointing to the Jagdish Patel, who has been living in Milford since 1989.
“I became deeply disturbed and uncomfortable as did other members of the team who were there just to carry out simple code inspections. What occurred during this process I believe to be unethical, immoral, racist, aggressive, intimidating and in violation of laws against discrimination, and in violation of the civil rights of the landlord and residents of the building,” Milford Police Administrative Supervisor Sgt. James Heron told The Milford Daily News, who refused to disclose the name of the man who made such racial comments during the inspection.
The inspection included a review of 12 apartments, common areas and the building’s exterior.
Patel said that he heard the statements but decided not to say anything because he was planning on traveling to India to visit family the next day.
Patel added that he heard the guy say that officials should give tenants a 30 days’ notice to leave the building and then burn it down.
“I’ve been here 35 years … they don’t have a right to say anything,” Patel told The Milford Daily News referring to the town officials.
Officials did end up reporting evidence of overcrowding in both the commercial areas on the first floor however, Patel claimed that some tenants had guests visiting during the time of the inspection and planned to follow up with town officials later on for more information about the inspection as well as the incident.
The Milford Daily News asked Patwel if he was going to take any legal action to which he replied “if I have to, I will because I don’t know if I go to Town Hall how they’re going to treat me.”