(Columbus Dispatch) Columbus police Chief Thomas Quinlan said this week that he is open to taking another look at the division’s ban on head coverings for religious reasons.
The ban made headlines in 2015 after a female police recruit left the Columbus police academy because she was not permitted to wear a hijab, or head scarf.
In 2015, the Police Division said the desire was to have officers look uniform and not have any outward appearance that could affect how they are received by the community. There also were concerns about head scarves potentially being used to strangle officers during a struggle.
Shortly after that recruit left the academy, the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed an employment discrimination complaint over the hijab issue.
