Living his Dream
Gurbir Grewal’s momentous dedication to public service led him to become the
attorney general that NJ law enforcement offi cers can count on…and trust
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
September 11’s tragedy had hit with the full force of an elbow
to America’s gut when Gurbir Grewal stepped outside the Wash-
ington D.C. law firm where he worked. He wanted to join his col-
leagues in gasping and grieving, but the moment wouldn’t allow
Grewal to breathe.
As a Sikh man, he maintains the five articles of faith, the most
distinctive being kesh: uncut hair to be kept in a turban. But out-
side his office building in the downtown District that day, the
turban made Grewal feel like a target, like, based on his appear-
ance, some wanted to lump in him with al-Qaeda.
Now serving as New Jersey’s history-making attorney general
and the first Sikh in the U.S. to ascend to a state’s highest-rank-
ing law enforcement position, General Grewal recalls the sick-
to-his-stomach feeling that day with so much purpose, resolve
and intensity. On September 11, 2001, Grewal decided to dedi-
cate himself to public service, and every New Jersey law enforce-
ment officer, every PBA member, every citizen of the state and
even every American is now better because he did.
“Before I could even grieve with the person next to me, I felt
the stares of people looking at me, associating me with the peo-
ple responsible for September 11,” Grewal reveals while chatting
in the conference room of the attorney general’s Newark office.
It is late on a Friday afternoon, and in an hour or so, he will go
home to grill dinner for his wife and three daughters. But now he
has a rare moment to let his hair down about the tipping point
that led Grewal to become New Jersey’s top cop.
“Why was that?” he continues. “I was born and raised in this
country. I had the all-American childhood. I did Little League,
soccer and all sorts of high school activities. Why am I made to
Attorney General Grewal chats with NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan
(left) and Executive Vice President Marc Kovar before the 2018 NJ Law En-
forcement Offi cer Memorial in Ocean Grove.
feel uncomfortable in this moment? That was my call to public
service. I was working at one of the biggest law firms in D.C., but
I had never truly given back. I realized that’s what it meant to
be an American, to give back to a country that had afforded my
family and other immigrant families like ours so much.”
Within three years, Grewal was serving as an Assistant U.S.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
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■ SEPTEMBER 2018 35