Sandeep Dhaliwal made history as a Texas county’s first Sikh sheriff’s deputy and won an accommodation to wear his turban and a beard while on patrol over four years ago. But on Friday, he was gunned down during a traffic stop in “a cold-blooded manner, ambush style,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a news conference.
The 42-year-old, who is survived by his wife and three children, has since been remembered in an outpouring of support.
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Pictures keep coming in. I’m blown away. Houstonians loved Dhaliwal. Like Braiden, 4. Mom wrote me: “My son was telling him he wanted to be a police officer when he grows up. Deputy Dhaliwal told my son to change the world and follow his dreams.” #abc13 https://t.co/NHxsSR76LQ pic.twitter.com/KPxUYwf0cD
— Courtney Fischer (@CourtneyABC13) September 28, 2019
“He touched countless of lives along the way. A legacy that will never be forgotten,” Gonzalez wrote on Twitter. “We will aspire to be as good as he was.”
This video captures the essence of who Deputy Dhaliwal was. He touched countless of lives along the way. A legacy that will never be forgotten. We will aspire to be as good as he was. #HouNews #lesm https://t.co/c3i2eBBLMv
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) September 28, 2019
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office shared an old video of Dhaliwal, who was in uniform, playing with a deaf child who handcuffed him.
A Harris County resident sent us a video of fallen Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal.
“He laughed and joked with all of us, and left a bright impression on my son who is deaf,” she said.
Deputy Dhaliwal is an incredible loss not only to our HCSO family but to the entire community. pic.twitter.com/EbsdFeeWXO
— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) September 28, 2019
District Attorney Kim Ogg said the community “lost a trailblazer and public servant.”
“He was a bold and groundbreaking law enforcement officer in the eyes of our county, our state, our nation, and around the world, because he sought and received a permission to patrol while wearing the outward signs of his Sikh faith, including a turban and beard,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement.
Harris County police Commissioner Adrian Garcia remembered Dhaliwal as having a “heart of gold.”
A candlelight vigil was held in his memory Friday night.
Community-led candlelight vigil was held tonight in honor of @HCSO_D5Patrol Deputy Dhaliwal. Please continue to keep his family & his @HCSOTexas family in your thoughts & prayers. Deputy Dhaliwal was LOVED by this community. #HouNews pic.twitter.com/oD7M78RXxm
— Major Mike Lee (@HCSOPatrol) September 28, 2019
Robert Solis, 47, has been charged with capital murder in connection to Dhaliwal’s killing, the sheriff’s office said. Dhaliwal was walking back to his patrol car in Houston when the suspect allegedly shot him in the back of the head.
Dhaliwal’s father served as a police officer in India before he moved his family to the United States. Dhaliwal said in 2015 that “serving in the police force is natural” to Sikhs who value service.
