A Year Later, County Honors its Fallen Hero Dhaliwal with Tollway Dedication

By Jawahar Malhotra

Houston: A year after Harris County Deputy Constable Sandeep Dhaliwal was senselessly murdered at a gas station during a routine traffic stop on September 27, 2019, the County Commissioners formally unveiled signs on both sides of the 5-mile stretch of the Sam Houston Tollroad Beltway 8 from West Gulf Bank to Fairbanks North Houston.

The rectangular green and white signs are located on the northbound lanes at Gulf Bank and the southbound lanes at Fairbanks, virtually in front of the Sikh National Center property where a Gurdwara is in its final stages of completion.

It was in the parking lot of the SNC, adjacent to the feeder road this past Tuesday, October 6 that Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and Dist. 7 Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (D) met with members of the Sikh community and others to make the dedication of the 5-mile portion of the tollroad. In mid-September, Fletcher announced that Congress had unanimously approved the renaming of a US Post Office along Addicks-Howell Road near the Katy Freeway after Dhaliwal.

Garcia made the announcement on a makeshift stage flanked by pictures and a banner carrying Dhaliwal’s image. He thanked several people who were instrumental in making the name change possible, including Peter King, the Interim Executive Director of the Harris County Tollroad Authority, Gonzalez, Fletcher and Sikh community activist Bobby Singh who had campaigned for Dhaliwal’s right to wear his articles of fait in uniform.

“What a privilege it is to drive the tollroad to the post office named after him,” said Fletcher as people sat socially distant and masked in the bright morning sunlight. “It shows the incredible power one person can have and influence an entire community. We will see him everyday as we drive by this tollroad,” she added.

Gonzalez echoed the sentiments, adding that the Sheriff’s office “missed our friend, our teammate everyday. We pledge to always remember him. This marker will keep him in our minds for future generations.”

Hardam Singh Azad, the Chairman of the Board of the SNC, said that “Dhaliwal changed the perspective of people towards people who look like him.” He disclosed that the SNC would place an electronic sign by the feeder road across from the marker to explain what Dhaliwal stands for.

Dhaliwal’s father Pyara Singh and sister Harpreet remarked that the sign makes sure that people will remember Sandeep forever, and that “Sandeep wanted to spread love and help the people.”

Garcia closed the formal dedication with the hope that “we do our very best to be like Sandeep. Only God has a plan and this happened through a connection with Bobby Singh. Sandeep was clean-shaven before but brought us a picture of a turbaned and bearded Sikh in the US Army and asked us to make a change. I’m glad a Brown guy could bring in the Brown guy Sandeep,” quipped Garcia.

Garcia closed with a quote from the Bible and a statement in Spanish for the Spanish language TV reporter covering the event. The entire group then walked off to the sign by the side of the tollroad for a series of pictures, while the Constables blocked off part of the feeder road.