photo courtesy of Santa Monica Police Department
Job Uriah Taylor, a Santa Monica, California man, faces attempted murder and hate crime charges after he attacked several Black people on March 3. According to a news release by the Santa Monica Police Department, he struck a Black man walking his dog and later hit a Black man and woman with a metal pipe. Thankfully, Taylor was fended off by a team of firefighters when he was attacking the pair with the pipe.
The man walking his dog was uninjured, but the two attacked with the metal pipe were taken to the hospital after the attacks. Taylor reportedly went from one crime scene to the next by way of a bike. Although he was on police radar from the first attack on the dog walker, police could only apprehend him after receiving calls about an assault at a Santa Monica train station. The calls described Taylor beating a Black woman and man over the head with a pipe while “Taylor yelled several racial slurs at the victim.”
The news report states that Taylor has been arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of assault with force likely to produce significant bodily injury and hate crime charges.
The Santa Monica Police Department released a lengthy statement in response to the hate crimes allegations. It read, “It is the mission of the Santa Monica Police Department to safeguard the rights of all individuals irrespective of their disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and/or association with a person or group with one or more of these perceived characteristics,” police said. “Hate crimes have no place in Santa Monica.”
The end of the release included a request for any information regarding the crimes, calling for any witnesses who may have seen something related to the crime.
“Santa Monica Police Department Criminal Investigations Division (CID) Detectives are seeking witnesses who may have been in the area at the time of the incidents. Anyone with any additional information pertaining to this incident or suspect is strongly encouraged to contact SMPD Detective Jacob Holloway at 310-458-8934, Jacob.holloway@santamonica.gov or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8426.”