Funeral for fallen Galt officer planned for Sept. 13
GALT — The Galt Police Department announced this week that a funeral for Officer Harminder Grewal will be held on Sept. 13 in Roseville.
Grewal, who died on Aug. 26 from injuries sustained in a head-on collision earlier that week, will be buried at Bayside Church Adventure Campus at 10 a.m. next Monday.
While the ceremony will be held in the Sacramento area, the Galt Police Department is encouraging residents to participate in a procession later that day.
“It’s customary for law enforcement to honor an officer who dies in the line of duty with a funeral that includes the community in which they served,” the department posted on social media. “A law enforcement procession will immediately follow the service. We encourage the community to show their support by lining the sidewalks of the procession route.”
A route for the procession will be announced in the coming days, the department said.
On Aug. 22 at 4:35 a.m., Grewal, 26, was traveling north on Highway 99 near Dillard Road to assist with the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County with Officer Kapri Herrera when their patrol vehicle was struck head-on by a pick-up truck that had jumped over the center median.
Both Grewal and Herrera had to be extricated from the vehicle, with the former taken to Kaiser’s South Sacramento campus in critical condition. He succumbed to his injuries four days later.
Herrera was taken to UC Davis Medical Center in critical, but stable condition. The department announced on Friday afternoon that she had been released and would spend the rest of her recovery at home.
A two-and-a-half year veteran, Grewal spent a couple months with the Lodi Police Department before he was hired in
Galt in 2019.
Earlier this year, he was named the 2020 Officer of the Year, and was also recognized by the Mother Against Drunk Driving California branch for his efforts to remove more than 30 impaired motorists from the road.
Herrera was also a former Lodi Police Department officer, hired in 2019 before leaving for her hometown of Galt in February of 2020.
The driver of the truck that collided with Grewal and Herrera’s vehicle, 25year-old Manjot Singh Thind of Manteca, was pronounced dead at the scene. His two passengers, a 26-year-old from Dublin and a 26-year-old from Turlock, were taken to area hospitals for treatment of moderate injuries.
The California Association of Highway Patrolmen established a memorial fund in Grewal’s honor last week to help his family in the aftermath of his death.
To donate to the Officer Grewal Memorial Fund, visit www.cahpcu.org/OfficerHarminderGrewalMemorialFund. Checks may also be sent to Officer Grewal Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 276507, Sacramento, CA 95827.
The Galt Police Officer’s Association and the Police Officers Research Association of California established a fundraiser to cover medical expenses for Herrera and her family.
According to the fundraising page, she suffered major facial injuries that will require multiple surgeries.
As of Friday afternoon, $32,557 had been raised. To donate, visit tinyurl.com/GaltKHerrera.