US Muslim woman gets justice as Califonia Police settles to pay her $85,000 for forcefully removing her hijab

Now female officers are required to remove the headscarves of female inmates “when necessary for officer safety,” and away from male officers and inmates, Long Beach assistant city attorney Monte Machit told the Los Angeles Times.

The city of Long Beach, California, will pay $85,000 to settle a 2016 lawsuit filed by a Muslim woman after an officer forcibly removed her hijab, or headscarf, when she was in police custody.

City Cable Network (CNN) reported that the incident started when Kirsty Powell and her husband were pulled over by police for driving a “low rider” car, according to the lawsuit.

Powell was the passenger, but was arrested after police found a warrant under her name for a shoplifting incident.

Powell’s husband requested a female officer handle the arrest, according to the suit, but the arresting officers denied the request and told Powell she had to remove her hijab.

Another version of the incident’s report by AFP said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which announced the settlement, leading to the payment, on Thursday, had sued the city of Long Beach on behalf of Kirsty Powell, an African-American Muslim, “after police officers forcibly removed her hijab in view of other male officers and dozens of inmates.”

Powell, who wears the head covering “as part of her religious beliefs,” was “forced to spend the entire night exposed in custody and described the experience as deeply traumatizing,” the rights group said.

Powell was arrested during a traffic stop in May 2015 on outstanding warrants that were since cleared.

Long Beach voted Tuesday to approve the settlement, CAIR said, adding that nearby communities have already adopted policies protecting religious headwear in detention following similar lawsuits.

Now female officers are required to remove the headscarves of female inmates “when necessary for officer safety,” and away from male officers and inmates, Long Beach assistant city attorney Monte Machit told the Los Angeles Times.

During the arrest officers told Powell that she had to remove her hijab.

Powell was denied requests for a female officer to search her, and was denied requests to wear her hijab in custody.

“I would never want anyone to go through what I felt from this experience,” Powell said when the suit was filed last year, according to CAIR.