:dateline:Representatives of Guru Gobind Singh Foundation of Rockville, Maryland met Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, in her office and presented a Sewa (service) Award to her in the form of a plaque.� Every year on the occasion of Vaisakhi, the GGSF presents this award to individual(s) who have made significant contributions to the Sikhi or Sikh causes in the past.� Chief Cathy Lanier and Lt. Brian Murphy, Oak Creek Wisconsin Police Officer who fought very bravely against a white supremacist and saved many Sikh lives at Oak Creek Wisconsin Gurdwara, were among the individuals who were selected for this year�s award.� Chief Lanier has offered Sikhs to serve the law enforcement in Washington, DC, in full capacity and with any restrictions to the full expression of their religious observances. �
A holder of double master�s degrees in management and national security, Cathy Lanier has spent her entire law enforcement career with the Metropolitan Police Department, beginning in 1990. Much of her career has been in uniformed patrol, where she served as Commander of the Fourth District, one of the largest and most diverse residential patrol districts in the city. After serving as Commander of the Special Operations Division (SOD), she became the Chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department on April 3, 2007.� Thereafter, she led the organization to became the nation�s first major police department in the United States to explicitly and voluntarily allow Sikh Americans to serve as full-time, uniformed police officers while keeping their articles of faith.�
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At the ceremony, Jasjit Singh of SALDEF also joined the group.� Cathy and the Sikh delegation�had a very cordial discussion on the issues affecting the community in the Washington DC area and the efforts the Police Department has initiated to make the metro area a better and safer place to live.� Cathy explained some of the outreach efforts she was making to reach out to the community especially the kids and the youth from the minority communities and getting them involved in promoting civic values.�
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Inder Paul Singh Gadh, Chairman of GGSF, said, “We are grateful to the Police Chief for her kind gesture to offer opportunities to Sikhs to serve in the nation’s capital with their full fledged identity. This will go long way to show to the entier nation that our identity is not a barrier in serving in the law enforcement departments.” Sikh representatives offered their assistance in furthering the agenda of DC police department to reach out to underprivileged children in the urban settings. Many of them would benefit from mentoring programs.
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Harminder Singh Jassal, Board member of GGSF, said, “We are proud of Chief Lanier for her leadership in making our safe and creating a sense of security while creating a respect for the law enforcement officers in the nation’s capital.”
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Rajwant Singh, Secretary of GGSF, said, “Being a women officer, Chief Lanier has distinguished herself in serving Washington, DC, and has shown the world that women can lead a major metropolitan police force. She has certainly changed the perception and has inspired many women to claim their share in this role.”
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