NYC Police To Pay $17.5M To Settle Lawsuit By Women Who Claim They Were Forced To Remove Hijabs During Mugshot Photo

April 7, 2024

HAMPTON BAY, NY – FEBRUARY 20: NYPD police officers arrive for the funeral of fallen NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen at Holy Rosary Church on February 20, 2019 in Hampton Bay, New York. The funeral was attended by thousands of local police officers and law enforcement personnel. Simonsen was killed last week in a crossfire while responding to a robbery at a store in Queens with his NYPD colleagues. Mr. Simonsen is survived by his wife and mother and will be interred in Jamesport Cemetery near Riverhead, New York. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

OAN’s Elizabeth Bolbelding
10:16am – Sunday, April 7, 2024

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by two Muslim women who were told to remove their hijabs to have their photos taken.

Two Muslim women, Jamila Clark and Arwa Aziz, filed a class action lawsuit in 2018 alleging they were exposed and humiliated when their hijab was removed after their arrest.

The 2018 lawsuit alleged that Arwa Aziz and Jamila Clark’s privacy and religious freedom were violated. Lawyers say more than 3,600 people are eligible to receive payments under the agreement.

“When they forced me to take off my hijab, I felt as if I was naked. I don’t know if I can put into words how exposed and violated I felt,” Clark said. said in a statement. “I am so proud to have helped bring justice to thousands of New Yorkers today.”

Mr. Clark was arrested on January 9th.^thAugust 30, 2017^thIn 2017, Aziz was arrested.

The two women were taken into custody on charges of violating a false protection order, and police threatened to press charges if they did not remove their head coverings during a photo shoot, according to the complaint.

The complaint also states that Aziz was traumatized when his photo was taken in front of more than 30 male inmates and 12 male police officers.

City officials initially argued that the ban was a compromise between respect for religious traditions and “the need for legitimate law enforcement to take arrest photos,” banning the practice of removing headgear for mugshots. Justified.

However, as part of the initial settlement of the lawsuit, the police department changed its policy in 2020, allowing arrestees to wear headgear for mug shots with certain restrictions, such as when arrestees hide the subject’s facial features. He declared that he could continue to wear it. .

Manhattan Federal Court Judge Annalisa Torres must approve the cash settlement filed Friday.

The settlement was “in the best interest of all parties,” according to a statement from Nick Paolucci, a spokesman for the city’s attorney general’s office. This led to reforms that were also beneficial to the police.

Lawyers for the two women argued that police regulations requiring head coverings violated both their right to privacy and religious freedom.

The city’s law enforcement agency said in a statement. new york times The agreement “carefully balances law enforcement’s respect for deeply held religious beliefs with law enforcement’s critical need to take arrest photographs.”

“This resolution was in the best interest of all parties.”

The funds are expected to be distributed to thousands of claimants detained from March 2014 to August 2021. Attorneys say the victims are guaranteed payments of between $7,000 and $13,000.

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