Davidson County’s sheriff states that hijabs are permitted in booking photos, differing from Knox County’s policy amid a federal lawsuit.
Nashville: So, the Davidson County Sheriff, Daron Hall, just filed something in court saying they let Muslim women wear hijabs in their booking photos. This is a big deal because it’s different from what they do in Knox County.
This all comes from a lawsuit by Layla Soliz, a Muslim woman from Knoxville. She’s suing the Knox County Sheriff’s Office because they published her booking photo without her hijab. She’s looking for at least $250,000 in damages and wants them to change their rules so women like her don’t have to take off their headscarves.
Layla got arrested back in May during a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Tennessee. Her attorney pointed out that in Davidson County, they don’t usually make people remove their religious headwear for photos, while Knox County does. He mentioned that neither county should be publishing these photos anyway.
Hall explained that even if a woman’s hair is covered, you can still see her face well enough in the photos. The main point of these booking photos is to identify people, and that can happen without removing the hijab.
He also noted that their policy has been around for over ten years. They check religious garments before taking the booking photo. Hall believes that allowing women to keep their hijabs on helps build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Interestingly, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office has a policy that says they should respect the dignity of arrestees with religious head coverings. They take photos both with and without the head covering but only release the one with it on.
So, it’s a pretty significant difference in how these two counties handle things. It’s all about respecting religious beliefs while also doing the job of law enforcement.
