Washington DC – Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), in partnership with the United States Postal Service, hosted a dedication and plaque presentation ceremony for the renaming of the U.S. Post Office at 315 Addicks Howell Road to the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office.
In her remarks, Congresswoman Fletcher said, “It has been an honor to lead this effort to honor the life and contributions of Deputy Dhaliwal by naming the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office in his memory.” Congresswoman Fletcher said that the post office would be a permanent reminder of Deputy Dhaliwal’s service and sacrifice, adding that “Deputy Dhaliwal’s remarkable life of service to others—working for equality, connection, understanding, and community—exemplifies the very best of Houston.”
Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) tweeted, Our fallen brother Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal was honored by renaming a postal office in west Harris County in his memory. We are grateful to the Texas delegation, Harris County Commissioners Court, United States Postal Office, & the Sikh community for honoring him.
Speakers at the event included Postmaster Chenise LeDoux USPS TX-2 District Manager; Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Harris County Sheriff’s Office; Harris County Commissioners Adrian Garcia (Precinct 2), Tom S. Ramsey (Precinct 3), and R. Jack Cagle (Precinct 4); and Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) Regional Director Bobby Singh.
In 2015, Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal 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. He was the first Sikh police officer to serve in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and was a role model and a trailblazer for Sikh Americans and religious minorities that sought to serve in law enforcement.
Dhaliwal was killed in the line of duty on September 27, 2019. Following his death, Congresswoman Fletcher led the entire Houston delegation in introducing H. Res. 616, a resolution to honor the life and mourn the loss of Deputy Dhaliwal and spoke on the House floor about his remarkable life and tragic death. In 2020, Congresswoman Fletcher’s bill, H.R. 5317, the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office Act, was passed and signed into law by then-President Donald Trump.
Poonam Sharma
Poonam Sharma, Managing Editor, India America Today