Texas man sentenced to death over murder of Sikh police officer

A man was sentenced to death on Wednesday for the fatal 2019 shooting of a law enforcement officer who was the first Sikh deputy in his Texas agency.

According to trial evidence, Solis shot the 42-year-old deputy multiple times during a 2019 traffic stop in a residential cul-de-sac 18 miles (29km) north-west of Houston. Dhaliwal was returning to his patrol car when Solis shot him from behind.

Solis represented himself in the trial after firing his three defense attorneys.

Assistant district attorney Katie Warren, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement on Wednesday that Dhaliwal was not just a trailblazer in the law enforcement community but also an exceptional officer.