USA: The NYPD Finally Allows Sikh Officers To Wear Turbans And Grow Beards

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Sikh activists are calling the policy change a “big victory” for their community, whose male members often refrain from cutting their hair or beards as a religious practice. 

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post
By Hayley Miller | December 29, 2016

NYPD officers may now wear turbans and grow beards for religious reasons, New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill announced Wednesday during the Police Academy graduation at Madison Square Garden.

Officers granted religious accommodations are now able to wear turbans so long as they are navy blue and affixed with the New York Police Department insignia. And Sikh and Muslim officers are set to benefit from the new rule permitting facial hair up to one half-inch in length.

The regulations overhaul marks a significant departure from previous policies barring religious officers from donning turbans and wearing beards more than 1 millimeter long. Before these changes, Sikh officers were permitted only to wear a thin head covering, known as patka, underneath the NYPD uniform hat.

Sikh activists are calling the policy change a “big victory” for their community, whose male members often refrain from cutting their hair or beards as a religious practice.

“We’re very happy right now,” Gurvinder Singh, president of the Sikh Officers Association told HuffPost on Thursday. “It’s a very proud moment for the Sikh community.”


 Hayley Miller Reporter, The Huffington Post

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