A Muslim woman filed a federal lawsuit against the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department on Monday, claiming deputies forced her to remove her head scarf while in custody last year, a move that runs counter to established case law protecting the religious rights of people in police custody.
In the lawsuit, Jennifer Hyatt, a 44-year-old registered nurse from Newbury Park, claims a deputy snatched her head covering and refused to give it back or provide her an alternate form of cover when she was detained by the sheriff’s department for several hours on New Year’s Day in 2017.
Hyatt’s attorneys said she posed no threat to the deputies who refused to return her head covering.
“Though Ms. Hyatt protested against the removal of her religious head wear, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies continued to prohibit her from wearing any head-covering during her entire time in County custody, even though she had been thoroughly searched and did not pose any valid security concerns,” the suit said.
The sheriff’s department exonerated the deputies involved in the incident after Hyatt filed an internal affairs complaint last year, according to Rifahie.
Rifahie said the incident speaks to a larger issue involving the treatment of Muslim woman who choose to cover themselves under a hijab. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has handled a number of cases in recent years involving female students and employees who have been denied the right to wear the clothing that conforms to their faith.
“The hijab issue, and a woman’s right to wear it, comes up all the time. A lot of our bullying cases involve female students having their hijabs tugged and pulled,” Rifahie said.
Erin Darling, who is also representing Hyatt, said he hopes the suit will compel the sheriff’s department to protect the rights of inmates.
“Big picture, my hope is that the county of Ventura follows the law and permits religious head wear among all detainees,” he said. “Whether it’s a woman wearing a hijab or a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke.”