SALDEF in the News
Sandeep Dhaliwal, Sikh Sheriff’s Deputy, Is Fatally Shot Near Houston
Sandeep Dhaliwal was shot and killed Friday afternoon in the Houston suburbs during a routine traffic stop. Robert Solis has been charged with the capital murder of Dhaliwal, the sheriff’s office announced Friday. He was the first observant Sikh to become a sheriff’s deputy in Harris County, where Houston is located. The mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, called Deputy Dhaliwal “a bold and groundbreaking law enforcement officer in the eyes of our county, our state, our nation.” The mayor added that “The story of him putting the Sikh imperative of ‘seva’ — selfless service — on display as a peacekeeper went worldwide.”Dhaliwal was a married father of three and a 10-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
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Recent News
Thousands say final farewell to slain Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal
Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects at a final farewell to Sandeep Dhaliwal at the Berry Center in Cypress. Dhaliwal was described as “a trailblazer” for being the first Sikh deputy in his agency. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, the nation’s first Sikh state’s attorney general, said Dhaliwal “inspired an entire generation of Sikhs to public service.”
Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Introduces Resolution To Honor Lt. Sandeep Dhaliwal
Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher introduced a bipartisan House Resolution to honor Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal. The congresswoman added that “This resolution seeks to celebrate his life and recognize his contribution to the police force both as an outstanding officer and role model for Houstonians and Sikhs alike.” Out of 15,4000 law enforcement agencies, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office is one of 25 agencies that have permitted Sikhs to wear their religious articles of faith.
New hotline resource for local Sikh community
The Kern County District Attorney’s Office and the Sikh’s Women’s Association partnered together to launch a resource hotline to help the Punjabi community in need. The association felt the need for the hotline after the Sikh community was rocked by two homicides this year, one involving the drowning of a newborn and the other, the shooting and killing of a woman.
10 Undeniable Facts About Mass Shootings in America
According to a recent article in the New York Times, there have been 26 mass shootings in summer 2019 alone, leaving 126 people dead. The article includes statistics and demographics about the mass shootings that have happened in recent history. In example, Young Americans are more likely to die by gun violence than in other countries and the majority of mass shootings happen in workplaces and schools.
SEE IT: Canadian Sikh politician Jagmeet Singh urged to cut off his turban to fit in
On Wednesday, Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh and leader of the New Democratic Party, defused a likely damaging campaign encounter involving a potential voter with humor. Singh was approached during a public meet-and-greet in Montreal’s Atwater Market, by a man saying “You should cut your turban off and you’ll look like a Canadian.” Singh immediately replied, “I think Canadians look like all sorts of people. That’s the beauty of Canada.”
New York: Thousands rally for human rights in Kashmir
On Friday, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer in New York, stood outside the United Nations alongside thousands of protesters to rally for human rights in Kashmir as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his speech at the world body’s General Assembly (UNGA). Pannun, along with others in the Sikh community, argues the violence against them in 1984 by the Indian forces mirror the current crisis in Indian-administered Kashmir where a lockdown has been in place for almost two months following the Indian government’s decision to scrap a constitutional provision that gave special rights and a degree of autonomy to the Muslim-majority state.
U.S. Government Plans to Collect DNA From Detained Immigrants
Senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security said that the Justice Department was developing a federal regulation that would give immigration officers the authority to collect DNA in detention facilities across the country that are currently holding more than 40,000 people. The article also adds that in supplying the F.B.I. and other law enforcement with the DNA of immigration detainees, federal authorities are jumping into an ethical debate about the use of DNA in criminal investigations. While such sampling has been crucial in securing thousands of prosecutions over the past several decades, it has also generated controversy because of the potential for abuse.