‘A heavy heart:’ Galt police officer who died in head-on crash awarded posthumous degree
Galt Police Officer Harminder Grewal was many things to the city and department he served for 2½ short years before his death in August.
He was a fast friend to his fellow men and women in uniform and a bridge to the Galt community; a member of the Galt Police honor guard and a dedicated officer on the rise who in 2020 was named the department’s Officer of the Year.
Grewal’s dedication also extended to the classroom. The fallen officer was posthumously awarded a bachelor’s degree Dec. 3 from Union Institute & University at Galt Police Department. Cincinnati-based Union has campuses in Sacramento and Los Angeles.
At the Dec. 3 ceremony attended by Grewal’s family, Galt Police Chief Brian Kalinowski and Grewal’s former colleagues, Union Institute & University provost Nelson Soto honored Grewal.
Grewal was only a few credits shy of earning his degree in criminal justice management from Union Institute & University when he died Aug. 26 from injuries he suffered in a head-on collision on Highway 99 en route to aid at the Caldor Fire. His partner, Officer Kapri Herrera, was seriously injured in the wreck, but survived after days in a Sacramento hospital.
In a statement, Union’s president Karen Schuster-Webb offered condolences to a family who she said was waiting to celebrate Grewal’s milestone.
“We understand that the value of education was held high in his family and everyone was looking forward to celebrating the completion of his studies,” Schuster-Webb said. “It is with a heavy heart, but with deep respect, that we pay this tribute of remembrance to Officer Grewal by awarding him this posthumous degree.”
“Officer Grewal took pride in serving his community and his work ethic was contagious to all who worked with him,” Galt Police Department said in a statement. “His service to our community will never be forgotten.”
Grewal and Herrera were driving north on Highway 99 near Dillard Road early on the morning of Aug. 22, when a pickup truck heading south on the highway broke through a barrier and crashed into the officers’ patrol vehicle. Both officers had to be freed from the vehicle. Grewal spent nearly a week in the hospital before dying of his injuries.
Herrera continues to recover from her injuries and recently attended the late October swearing in of Galt Police Chief Brian Kalinowski, the Galt Herald newspaper reported.
“We will have challenges as we go forward in recovering from the loss of Harmind and not having Kapri for a period of time as she recovers,” Kalinowski said at the October ceremony, the Herald reported, saying a “long road” lay ahead.
It was Kalinowski, then a Galt police lieutenant, who spoke of Grewal and Herrera’s selflessness at the somber August news conference to announce Grewal’s death.
“It was a community we don’t live in, but they gave up their free days to make sure they were safe as well,” Kalinowski said.
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