Thread: NYC must pay $180G to 3 Muslim women forced to remove hijabs for mugshots

NYC must pay $180G to 3 Muslim women forced to remove hijabs for mugshots

By Lukas Mikelionis | Fox News

New York City will have to pay out $180,000 to three Muslim women after forcing them to take off their hijabs for mugshots.

Three lawsuits were settled Monday in Brooklyn federal court stemming from the NYPD policy of photographing people wearing religious head coverings, the New York Daily News reported. The three women settled for $60,000 each.

Some cases date to 2012, when a high school girl – identified as “G.E.” – was arrested after a brawl with two other girls whom she thought spread gossip about her.

G.E. was initially brought to a local police station and was told to take off her hijab. G.E. refused and was taken to a secluded room where a female police officer took her photo outside the presence of any men, the Daily News reported.

But at Brooklyn Central Booking the police could not accommodate the girl’s religious needs, telling her that there were not any female officers available and that the camera is in a fixed spot, thus the mugshot could not be taken in a private room.

The girl alleged that a male officer then took her photo without a hijab, making her feel “exposed, violated and distraught” as she was forced to be without the Islamic garb for 20 minutes while male officers and prisoners looked at her.

Police issued an order in March 2015, according to court filings, changing the policies regarding people who refuse to take off their religious head coverings. Officers who perform the arrest had to tell the person that the NYPD offers a choice of getting a private photo – without the head garb and with an officer of the same gender.

Two other cases were filed in 2015 and 2016 by G.E.’s lawyer, Tahanie Aboushi, and involved a similar situation.

One woman claims to have been forced to remove her veil at Brooklyn Central Booking police station and was denied a female photographer. Another accuser said her hijab was removed at the scene of her arrest.

Aboushi told the Daily News on Tuesday that the police department issued additional policies regarding religious headwear in December 2017.

“We did our best to establish good precedent,” Aboushi said. “On the one hand, it gives officers guidance, and on the other hand, it protects the exercise of religious freedom.”

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/28...-mugshots.html

Hmmm. I wonder how they feel about cavity searches?

Which is why we need a LAW that you cannot wear Hijab in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

For security reasons and assimilation reasons...many reasons to ban this clothing in our country.

I wouldn't ban the clothing, but I also wouldn't treat their attire as a religious liberty that trumps laws to which everyone else is subject. Your religion does not make you special or above the law in the United States. It just doesn't.

It is all about money....IMO

Three Muslim women forced to remove hijabs for mug shots snag $180G payout from city

Last year, judges let parts of the three cases go ahead. All three women settled for $60,000 apiece, according to the Law Department.

(JASMIN MERDAN/GETTY IMAGES)
BYANDREW KESHNER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, February 27, 2018, 6:01 PM

New York City will pay a total of $180,000 to three Muslim women who were forced to take off their hijabs for mug shots, the Daily News has learned.

Settlements in the three cases were filed Monday in Brooklyn federal court, with the lawsuits spurring new NYPD procedures on photographing people donning religious head coverings.

The cases date back as far as 2012, when a Brooklyn high school girl identified as “G.E.” was arrested after a scuffle with two girls she thought were spreading rumors about her.

The criminal case was dismissed, but it was the initial mug shots that mattered in the civil rights case that followed.

G.E. was taken to the 62nd Precinct, which covers such neighborhoods as Bensonhurst, Mapleton and Bath Beach, where police told her she’d have to take off her hijab.

The teen refused, and was taken to a private room where a female officer shot the photo outside the presence of any men.

But at Brooklyn central booking, police told her there weren’t any female officers to do the picture and the camera was in a fixed spot, so it couldn’t be privately taken elsewhere.

G.E. said a male officer took her picture without her hijab.

Her suit said she felt “exposed, violated and distraught” being forced to take off her headscarf for some 20 minutes as male police and prisoners watched.

Court rulings show in March 2015, police issued an order that changed the rules when people refused to take off religious head coverings. Arresting officers had to tell the person they had the choice of getting a private photo — without the head covering, and with an officer of the same gender.

In 2015 and 2016, G.E.’s lawyer, Tahanie Aboushi, filed two similar cases — both for incidents that happened after the new police rules on head coverings.

One woman said she had to remove her veil at Brooklyn Central Booking. Another said her hijab was removed at the scene of her arrest, where she was knocked unconscious in an altercation with a neighbor over a parking spot.

At Brooklyn Central Booking, police denied the woman’s request for a female photographer.

Last year, judges let parts of the three cases go ahead. All three settled for $60,000 apiece, according to the Law Department.

On Tuesday, Aboushi told the Daily News the police department sent out additional directives in December 2017 on religious headwear. She credited the city and police, saying the end result was a “collaborative” effort and a “great first step.”

“We did our best to establish good precedent,” said Aboushi, noting several religions have headwear requirements.

“On the one hand, it gives officers guidance, and on the other hand, it protects the exercise of religious freedom,” Aboushi said.

A Law Department rep said “the resolution of these matters were in the best interest of all parties involved.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/women-forced-hijabs-mugs-settle-city-article-1.3845434

It's also about national security. Who knows what these stories would do to incite a terrorist attack if left to fester in public courts. Once again, we are held hostage to foreign ways and foreign people who refuse to assimilate into our nation.

There's an ole saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans. I'm not saying that's 100% right all the time, but it certainly is appropriate most of the time, and this was one of them.