An Indian-American Sikh police officer died after being shot multiple times from behind in a “ruthless, cold-blooded way” during a traffic stop in the US state of Texas, a senior official said Saturday.
Harris County Sherrif’s Office Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, 42, pulled over a vehicle when someone approached him from behind and opened fire near Cypress city, the Houston Chronicle quoted Sheriff Ed Gonzalez as saying.
Dhaliwal was a 10-year veteran in the force and the agency’s first Sikh deputy.
Dhaliwal was taken by helicopter ambulance to the Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he died. Authorities detained a possible suspect, the sheriff tweeted.
According to the media report, the dashcam video shows Dhaliwal and the suspect, still in his car, having a conversation with no sign of confrontation. A few seconds after Dhaliwal returned to his squad car, the suspect ran up and shot him
The shooter was seen running to a shopping centre nearby, officials said.
Investigators were able to identify what the shooter looked like by watching Sandeep Dhaliwal’s dashcam video.
The vehicle the shooter was driving was found and is being investigated, officials said. The gunman and the woman were taken into custody, they said.
Sandeep Dhaliwal was married and a father of three children.
