A Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy was gunned down during a mid-day traffic stop on Friday, a decade after becoming the force’s first Sikh and pushing for a historic expansion of religious rights in the department.
.@HCSOPatrol Major Mike Lee provides an update on the fatal shooting of Deputy Dahliwal in NW Harris County #HouNews https://t.co/8WHz583Rfw
— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) September 27, 2019
According to the Chron Sandeep Dhaliwal, 42, pulled over a vehicle around 12:45 p.m. in the 14800 block of Willancy Court in the Cypress area. Harris County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Mike Lee said dashcam video shows Dhaliwal and the suspect, still in his car, having a conversation with no sign of confrontation.
A few seconds after Dhaliwal returned to his squad car, the suspect ran up and shot him in the head multiple times, Lee said. Dhaliwal was airlifted to the hospital, where he died.
Dhaliwal was the county’s first Sikh deputy when he joined the force 10 years ago, and became a national figure after convincing the department to allow him to wear religious attire and grow a beard while on patrol.
“He was a hero, a trailblazer,” Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said of Dhaliwal, who he considered a close friend. “There are no words to speak to how heartbroken we are, how devastated.”
A woman who was outside gardening heard the shot and saw the suspect run to a getaway car. Lee said the suspect then went to a store nearby. After a brief search, authorities detained Solis, who has a criminal record that includes convictions for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated kidnapping and driving while intoxicated.
Dhaliwal, a father of three young children, began his career in law enforcement out of a desire to serve after then-Sheriff Adrian Garcia reached out to strengthen the department’s relationship with the Sikh community after deputies botched a domestic violence call at a Sikh family’s home.
Then-spokesman Alan Bernstein, who now works for Mayor Sylvester Turner, said Garcia met with Sikh leaders and encouraged Sikhs to apply to the department. Sikhism is centered around peace, equality and “love-inspired service” — ideals that Dhaliwal believed were central to…
Robert Solis, 47, has been charged with the capital murder of Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal. #hounews pic.twitter.com/ZGOzfEXqcc
— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) September 28, 2019
The New York Times reports that the gunman was found inside a business about a quarter of a mile away. “A deputy observed that he looked a little nervous and put him in custody,” the major said. “And that did turn out to be our shooter.”
the police identified the gunman as Robert Solis, 47, and charged him with capital murder.
