There is a new sergeant with the Chicago Police Department now making sure nobody sleeps on trains. From NewKerala.com:

Tomi Methipara, the first Indian American to join the Chicago Police and also be promoted to the rank of sergeant, does not let racial epithets flung at him get in the way of his job.

Methipara, who grew up in Kerala, India, and worked in a bank in Alwaye in that state and in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, before immigrating to the US and joining the 14,000-strong Chicago Police in 1990, said he has had quite a few culture shocks as a new recruit.

“Initially, I was shocked at how they treated dead bodies. We (Indians) give a lot of respect to the dead. But in the police, you realise that a dead body is like a log - it has no feelings.”

“We (Indians) give a lot of respect to the dead.” Are you joking? I can think of at least one religious Indian city where dead bodies lie here and there. I don’t think Indian culture gives any more respect to the dead than any other culture. That’s not really the point of this story but it caught my attention so I thought I’d call it out.

So Tomi, run into any discrimination?

As a rookie, Methipara would also be upset by racial epithets flung at him when he went to investigate a crime, or make an arrest.

“Over time, you learn not to take it personally. Even back in Agra, there were people calling me a ‘stupid Madrasi’. You learn to put it in perspective.”

This story has given me an idea for a television pilot about an Inspector Sahib, recently having come from India, who will show up to work for the NYPD. Hilarity ensues.