This is so ridiculous. The NYPD arrested two Muslim women in 2018 and made them remove there hijabs when taking their mug shots. The Muslim women complained that they felt “shame” and then sued the city.
Now New York City is going to pay out a settlement of $17.5 million in a large class action lawsuit.
Here’s more via Reuters:
New York City agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a lawsuit by two Muslim-American women who said the police violated their rights after arresting them by forcing them to remove their hijabs before being photographed.
The preliminary class action settlement covers men and women required to remove religious attire before being photographed. It was filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.
Payouts will total about $13.1 million after legal fees and costs are deducted, and could increase if enough of the more than 3,600 eligible class members submit claims. Each recipient will be paid between $7,824 and $13,125.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2018 by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, who said they felt shame and trauma when police forced them to remove their hijabs for their mugshots the prior year in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively.
Both had been arrested for violating orders of protection that they called bogus. Their lawyers likened removing the hijabs to being strip-searched.
“When they forced me to take off my hijab, I felt as if I were naked,” Clark said in a statement provided by her lawyers. “I’m not sure if words can capture how exposed and violated I felt.”
In response to the lawsuit, New York’s police department agreed in 2020 to let men and women wear head coverings during mugshots, so long as their faces could be seen.
Okay what happens when a woman breaks our laws that is wearing a full Iranian-style burka that covers her entire face except for her eyes? Is New York City going to allow that in mug shots too?
When someone comes here from another culture, they must assimilate to our culture and that means among other things, should they break the law, having their full uncovered head in a mug shot. Period.