On Thursday, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP) featured Former Oak Creek Police Lieutenant Brian Murphy at their Mid-Year meeting.
At the event, former Lt. Murphy was also recognized by members of the Sikh community for his service during the August 5, 2012 attack on the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.
Rucha Kaur, Community Development Director at the Sikh Coalition, and Raghuvinder Singh, member of the Oak Creek sangat, spoke at the event.
Raghuvinder Singh is the son of Baba Punjab Singh, who was shot in the August 2012 assault; to this day, he lies in a hospital bed, unable to move or speak. Former Lt. Murphy was the first law enforcement officer on the scene in Oak Creek, where he was hit by 15 bullets as he engaged the shooter that was attacking the gurdwara.
“We are grateful to Lieutenant Murphy for addressing our officers, and to the Sikh Coalition for joining us and facilitating Mr. Singh as a powerful speaker,” said Chief Christopher Leusner, President of NJSACOP and Chief of the Middle Township Police Department.
“We know that cultural education and interpersonal interaction are key to helping all law enforcement officials better protect our diverse communities, and we thank the Sikh community for continuing to build bridges with their officers across the nation.”
The Sikh community members in attendance honored former Lt. Murphy with a canvas by a Sikh artist as well as a book: Turbans and Tales, which depicts the portraits featured in the critically-acclaimed Sikh Project photography exhibition by British photographers Amit and Naroop.
Former Lt. Murphy has been honored for his service before, including when then-Vice President Biden awarded him and fellow Oak Creek Police Officer Sam Lenda (who also responded to the gurdwara attack) with the Medal of Valor in 2015.