HOUSTON’S FIRST SIKH DEPUTY SHOT DEAD FROM BEHIND

HCSO deputy dies after being shot 'ambush-style' during traffic stop, sheriff says

By Brittany Taylor

Click2Houston
September 27, 2019

HOUSTON - A Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy died after he was shot from behind Friday while conducting a traffic stop in northwest Harris County, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

The shooting was reported around 1 p.m. at 14807 Willancy Court at West Road.

Gonzalez said Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, who is a 10-year veteran of the department, stopped a vehicle with a man and woman inside. During that stop, Gonzalez said, one of the people in the vehicle got out and shot the 41-year-old deputy "ambush-style" at least twice in a "ruthless, cold-blooded way."

The shooter was seen running in a Kroger shopping center nearby, officials said. An employee told KPRC 2 that the shooter never entered the Kroger but left the vehicle in the parking lot before fleeing the scene.

Investigators were able to identify what the shooter looked like by watching Dhaliwal's dashcam video.

"They immediately looked at his dashcam to see what the suspect looked like, they took a photo of the suspect on the scene with their phone and immediately got that out to our intel people," Gonzalez said.

The vehicle the shooter was driving was recovered and is being investigated, officials said.

The owner of a Marble Slab Creamery said the possible gunman hung out at his shop for nearly a half-hour before authorities arrived and took him into custody. The woman who was inside the vehicle with the suspect was also detained, officials said.

SKY 2 video shows a police unit taking that suspect to the county jail.

Gonzalez asked everyone to pray for the deputy after he was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital by Life Flight. About 4:30 p.m., Gonzalez said in a tweet that the deputy had died.

Gonzalez is asking to please keep Dhaliwal's family in your prayers. He said Dhaliwal leaves behind a wife and three children.

"Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal was a trailblazer. He was an example for many. He represented his community with respect and pride," said Commissioner Adrian Garcia.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Robert Solis, 47, has been charged with capital murder in the shooting of Deputy Dhaliwal.

Solis is a parolee with an active parole violation warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon dating back to January 2017. Was there a parole hold placed on Solis when he was arrested on that aggravated assault charge? Apparently not! How did this sorry piece of shit manage to avoid arrest for that parole violation? This serves as a good example of how Texas parole fails to protect the public, and in this case a good cop paid the price.