United States – New York City will pay USD 17.5 million to resolve a lawsuit that had been filed by two Muslim-American women, complaining that the law enforcement authorities have violated their rights after arresting them and then making them remove their head covers to be photographed and recorded.
The proposed monetary settlement, currently at the preliminary stage of class action, covers both women and men who were photographed without the religious sign. It was brought Friday in Manhattan federal court, seeking consent by US District Judge Analisa Torres, as reported by Reuters.
Resolution and Compensation
Deductions will come to a total of USD 13.1 million after legal fees and cases have been taken care of. Class action members who submit a claim to that figure could be increased. Individual recipients will receive between USD 7,824 and USD 13,125.
As a result of the settlement, the lawsuit filed by Jamailla Clark and Arwa Aziz in 2018, who claimed that they felt humiliation and trauma when they were forced to remove their hijabs for their mugshots in Manhattan and Brooklyn, is now resolved.
Both had appeared in the court for contempt of protective orders that they called baseless. Their lawyers illustrated removing veils as being undressed in front of others.
“When they ordered me to remove my hijab, that’s when I felt as if I were without clothes, was her statement which she shared with her attorneys. I have no idea if words can do justice to how uncovered and invaded, I felt.”
The lawsuit resulted in the police department of New York deciding to let both men and women wear head coverings so long as the covered part does not hide their faces.
Balancing Religious Rights and Law Enforcement Needs
“This settlement resulted in a positive reform for the NYPD,” said Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesman for the city’s law department. “The agreement carefully balances the department’s respect for firmly held religious beliefs with the important law enforcement need to take arrest photos.”
The new rule additionally accommodated other religious headgear, such as wigs and yarmulkes, which Jews wore, and turbans, which Sikhs wore.
Police officers are allowed to remove head coverings temporarily in interventions for the search of dangerous weapons or contraband, but private officers of the same gender should do it, as reported by Reuters.
Eligibility and Timeline
As a counsel for Clark and Aziz, Albert Fox Cahn has said that the agreement “carries the sign that the NYPD cannot disregard the First Amendment rights of New Yorkers.”
Those who were not allowed to keep their head coverings between March 16, 2014, and August 23, 2021, qualify for the settlement.