US President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law a legislation to name a Texas post office after slain Sikh police officer Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who was gunned down in the line of duty during a routine traffic stop in Houston a year ago. Trump signed H R 5317, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 315 Addicks Howell Road in Houston, Texas, as the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office Building, the White House said in a statement.
The post office named after Dhaliwal in Houston is only the second US post office to be named after an Indian American. The first one was named after the first Indian American Congressman Dalip Singh Saund in Southern California in 2006. The House of Representatives and the Senate had recently passed the legislation in this regard. In his remarks on the Senate floor, Texas Senator Ted Cruz had said that Dhaliwal was a hero and a trailblazer whose commitment to his faith will inspire generations of Sikhs and other religious minorities to serve in law enforcement.
Dhaliwal, he said, has left a profound legacy on the law enforcement community. On September 27, 2019, Deputy Dhaliwal, 42, was killed in the line of duty in service of his community. Born in India, Dhaliwal moved to Houston along with his parents. In 2015, Dhaliwal of the Harris County Sheriff’s office became the first Sikh American in Texas to receive a policy accommodation to serve while wearing his articles of faith, including his turban and beard.
His father, Pyara Singh had earlier said that his family remains grateful for the outpouring of love and support in this effort to commemorate his son. ”This gesture will memorialise his legacy of service to his beloved Houston, while also reminding us all to uphold his example and celebrate the diversity that makes our and so many other communities strong,” he said after the legislation was passed by the Congress.
First Published: IST