Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a lawsuit by two American Muslim women who said police violated their rights after they were arrested by forcing them to remove their hijabs before being photographed.
The preliminary settlement agreement covers men and women who are required to remove religious clothing before being photographed. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Manhattan federal court and requires approval from U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.
The total settlement will be approximately $13.1 million after deducting legal fees and expenses, and could increase if enough of the more than 3,600 eligible class members file claims. Each recipient will be paid between $7,824 and $13,125.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2018 by Jamila Clark and Arwa Aziz, who said they felt shame and trauma when police forced them to remove their hijabs for photographs last year in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively.
Both were arrested for violating protective orders, which they called bogus. Their lawyers compared the removal of the hijab to a strip search.
“When they forced me to take off my hijab, I felt naked,” Clarke said in a statement provided by her lawyers. “I’m not sure words can convey how exposed and violated I felt.”
In response to the lawsuit, in 2020 the New York Police Department agreed to allow men and women to wear head coverings while being photographed as long as their faces were visible.
“This agreement resulted in positive reform of the NYPD,” said Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesman for the city’s Law Department. “The agreement carefully balances the department’s respect for strongly held religious beliefs with the important need for law enforcement to take photographs during arrests.”
The new policy extended to other religious headwear, including wigs and yarmulkes worn by Jews and turbans worn by Sikhs.
Police may temporarily remove their hats to search for weapons or contraband, but in private cases by officers of the same gender.
Albert Fox Kahn, a lawyer for Clark and Aziz, said the agreement “sends a powerful message that the NYPD cannot violate the First Amendment rights of New Yorkers without paying a price.”
People who were forced to remove their head coverings between March 16, 2014 and August 23, 2021 are eligible for compensation.