We’re remembering Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, who died after he was shot during a traffic stop Friday afternoon.
He is the 42nd Harris County deputy to die in the line of duty and 15th killed by gunfire, according to ODMP.org, a website that tracks line of duty deaths.
Dhaliwal is remembered as a leader, a pillar of the community and a man with a heart of gold.
He was the first Sikh American to join the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the first Texas deputy approved to wear a turban and beard while in uniform. (Both represent the Sikh’s articles of faith and commitment to equality, service and justice.)
Dhaliwal is the sheriff’s office second line of duty death this year and first deputy to be gunned down since Darren Goforth was shot and killed at a gas station in August 2015.
Dhaliwal considered Goforth a mentor and after his death said Goforth was “one of the reasons I am in uniform today.” Dhaliwal started the #BlueHouston hashtag after Goforth’s death as a way for people to show support for the fallen deputy and law enforcement nationwide.
Dhaliwal leaves behind a wife and three children.
We are also remembering all of the other Harris County deputies who have died in the line of duty (courtesy ODMP.org). Thank you for all you did to keep our community safe.
- Deputy Sheriff Sandeep Dhaliwal
- Deputy Sheriff Omar Diaz
- Deputy Sheriff Darren H. Goforth
- Detention Officer Tronoski Dontel Jones
- Deputy Sheriff Jesse Valdez, III
- Deputy Sheriff Eddie Lynn Wotipka
- Detention Officer Dionicio M. Camacho
- Detective Thomas L. "Tommy" Keen
- Jailer Thomas Flores Douglas
- Deputy Sheriff Shane Ronald Bennett
- Deputy Sheriff Joseph Norman Dennis
- Deputy Sheriff Barrett Travis Hill
- Deputy Sheriff John Charles Risley
- Deputy Sheriff Oscar Clarence Hill, IV
- Deputy Rebecca Ann Shaw
- Deputy Sheriff Keith Alan Fricke
- Deputy Sheriff Randolph Michael Eng
- Deputy Douglas John Noll
- Detective Harvey Davis
- Deputy Sheriff Ricky A. Yates
- Corporal Jeffery Scott Sanford
- Deputy Sheriff Richard Maurice Blackwell
- Deputy Sheriff Clark Harold Henry
- Deputy Sheriff Haskell Junior McCoy
- Deputy Sheriff Jess Willard Rozell, Jr.
- Deputy Sheriff Reginald Floyd Norwood
- Deputy Sheriff Royce Melvin Anderson
- Deputy Sheriff Albert Ochoa Garza
- Reserve Deputy Sheriff Joe Mason Westbrook
- Reserve Deputy Sheriff James A. Wier
- Deputy Sheriff Jimmie Howard McKay, Sr.
- Detective Rodney Scott Morgan
- Deputy Sheriff Edd Williams
- Deputy Sheriff Fred B. Peebles
- Deputy Sheriff Walter Howard Harvey
- Deputy Sheriff Donald E. Knowlton
- Deputy Sheriff Leo Busby
- Deputy Sheriff Theron Eldridge "Eddie" Shofner
- Deputy Sheriff Joe Trapolino
- Deputy Sheriff William C. Williams, Jr.
- Deputy Sheriff Arthur Taylor
- Deputy Sheriff Carl Frederick Reinhold Court
MORE COVERAGE