The Houston Police Department has joined a group of law enforcement agencies across the U.S. to allow religious minorities to wear clothes and other items important to their faith typically prohibited by strict uniform policies.

The change, formalized Oct. 11, comes weeks after the killing of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, a trailblazing Sikh who made national news after winning permission to wear his turban and other articles of faith of his religion on duty.

He was killed in late September by a man he pulled over during a routine traffic stop. Dhaliwal was widely praised for his generosity, commitment to the community and deep faith. Thousands attended his funeral.

Chief Art Acevedo said the department was already reviewing its policy before Dhaliwal’s death, in part because they’d received an application from a local Sikh hoping to join HPD. The change would allow officers to request specific exemptions to accommodate their firmly established religious beliefs or medical necessity.

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Dhaliwal’s death inspired the department to expedite the process, Acevedo said.

“Let’s not wait until we hire someone,” Acevedo said. “Let’s send the message that we’re an inclusive department, and we’re doing it in his honor and memory.”

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in India. Practicing Sikhs wear a turban and five articles of faith: uncut hair, a wooden comb, an iron bracelet, an iron dagger and a Kachera, or type of undergarment.

That can conflict with law enforcement departments’ strict dress codes and uniform policies that frequently bar officers from displaying tattoos, growing beards and wearing certain jewelry or other accoutrements.

Approximately 25 of the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement departments have permitted religious accommodations for Sikhs, allowing them to serve wearing their articles of faith, according to The Sikh Coalition, a civil rights organization that advocates for religious accommodations for minority communities in public and private sectors.

After Dhaliwal’s death, dozens of Sikhs serving in law enforcement and the military sent letters to the Department of Defense and law enforcement agencies across the country urging them to make accommodations to allow observant Sikhs to serve in their departments.

On Friday, members of the Sikh Coalition cheered HPD’s move, saying it “significantly expanded” the ability for Sikhs and other religious minorities to serve with their articles of faith intact and hoped it would encourage other departments to follow suit.

“As a native Houstonian, it’s great that the diversity of our community is being reflected in our police force as well,” said Manpreet Singh, a local coalition member.

st.john.smith@chron.com