Murder trial to begin for man accused of killing Deputy Dhaliwal during traffic stop in 2019

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The murder trial for a man accused of shooting and killing Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal in 2019 is set to begin Monday morning.

Robert Solis, 47, is charged with capital murder after prosecutors said he shot Dhaliwal during a traffic stop, firing his gun several times.

The events unfolded after Dhaliwal went back to his patrol cruiser after stopping Solis, who got out of his car and shot him in the back of the head.

According to HCSO Major Mike Lee, the traffic stop seemed to be normal and "conversational" from looking at the dash camera video.

READ MORE: Deputy shooting timeline: What we know about what happened

The sheriff's office says the suspect ran up from behind Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal and shot him in the back of the head.

"There was no combat, no arguing, just looked like a routine traffic stop that we conduct every day," Lee said in 2019.

Dhaliwal was a well-known deputy who was considered to be a trailblazer for being the department's first Sikh deputy.

He also worked to change the agency's policy to allow religious expressions while on duty.

RELATED: Remembering Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal 1 year later

Sunday, Sept. 27 marks one year since Harris County Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop in Northwest Harris County.

ABC13 will be the courtroom Monday morning for Solis' court appearance.

SEE ALSO: Alleged deputy killer Robert Solis has lengthy criminal history

Alleged deputy killer has lengthy criminal history