A Texas cop who became the first sheriff's deputy to wear the traditional Sikh turban and beard has been murdered while on duty.
Sandeep Dhaliwal had pulled a driver over for a routine traffic stop when he was shot in the back of his head. His killer then fled the scene.
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"Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, a 10-year veteran, was a hero, was a respected member of the community and he was a trailblazer," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a press conference after the shooting on Friday afternoon (local time). "There are no words to speak to how heartbroken we are, how devastated."
The father-of-three joined the police force to help strengthen the department's relationship with the Sikh community.
"As a Sikh American, I felt the need to represent the Sikh community in law enforcement," Deputy Dhaliwal told NBC News in 2015. "Serving in the police force is natural to us, as Sikhs value service."
But as an observant Sikh, Deputy Dhaliwal believed he must wear traditional articles of faith as part of his uniform and pushed for a religious accommodation policy that allowed him to do so. This made him the first Texan approved to wear the Sikh religion's traditional turban and a beard while on duty, the Associated Press reports.
"Sandeep was a trailblazer for the Sikh-American community," Bobby Singh, south-east regional director for the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said on Twitter.
"He served not just the Sikh community here in Houston with honour and dignity, but all of his community."
Police later arrested 47-year-old Robert Solis and charged him with capital murder over Deputy Dhaliwal's death.
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