TEXAS, USA—In a high-profile gesture Friday to one of the nation’s largest communities of South Asian Sikhs, the county sheriff of greater Houston announced that a serving Sikh officer will be allowed to wear his faith’s traditional beard and turban while on patrol.
The move, a longtime demand of Sikh activists, made the Harris County Sheriff’s Office one of the first few police forces in the nation – along with Washington, D.C. and Riverside, Ca. – to permit Sikhs to wear the “articles of faith” that their religion requires of devout members.
“By making these religious accommodations, we will ensure that (our) office reflects the community we serve, one of the most culturally rich and diverse in America,” Sheriff Adrian Garcia said in a statement. “Deputies need to not only understand, respect and communicate with all segments of the population, but represent it as well.”
Sikh leaders in Houston and Washington welcomed the announcement, and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) circulated Internet photos of Garcia shaking hands with Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, 37, who was wearing a blue police uniform, navy blue turban and short beard.
“With this policy, one of the largest sheriff’s offices in the country has affirmed that a person does not have to choose between their faith and a career of service,” said Jasjit Singh, executive director of SALDEF in Washington. The group’s Houston representative said the move would help the law enforcement agency “attract the best and brightest from across our community to serve.”
Sikhism is a religion that prizes qualities of discipline, duty, charity and self-sacrifice. Practicing Sikhs never cut their hair and wear it under wrapped turbans.
Sikh organizations have been pressing local and federal security agencies for years to allow their members to serve while wearing beards and turbans.
