Ramapo arrest controversy sheds light on how police deal with religious beliefs

By Steve Lieberman
The Journal News • July 6, 2008

When a Ramapo police officer recently ordered Sarah Cohen of Monsey to remove her wig for an arrest photograph, a firestorm erupted in the religious Jewish community.

The incident also ignited a debate concerning what extent police officers should consider a person's religious beliefs or cultural mores during arrests.


Most law enforcement agencies - including Ramapo and federal and state officials - say they generally order suspects to remove hats, turbans, wigs, glasses and toupees for a booking photograph.

Those rules can run counter to the religious and cultural beliefs of several groups. In particular, Hasidic Jews consider the removal of a married woman's wig in public a violation of her dignity and honor.

There is no standard state rule on religious issues concerning how to photograph a suspect during an arrest processing, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. There are general recommendations on booking procedure, but each department can have its own rules on the details.

Suspects are photographed to show their physical condition at the time of arrest and as a form of identifying the person in case he or she doesn't show up for court hearings.

Police agency officials say they strive for the most accurate photograph of the suspect for later identification.

Noting that people lose some rights when arrested, police said their policies didn't specifically deal with religious beliefs, whether Jewish, Muslim, Sikh or Christian.

In some cases, police officials said they would take two sets of photos - one with hairpieces or glasses and one without.

Usually, departments assign a matron or female officer to process a woman.

"Under our arrest process of photographing and fingerprinting, we ask all subjects to remove their hats and glasses, inclusive of any religious headwear," New York State Police Sgt. Kern Swoboda said. "Anything that can easily alter the identifying features are going to be removed."

For most departments, the issue faced by Ramapo had not previously come up.

Even Ramapo, Spring Valley and Bedford police, which serve areas with considerable Hasidic populations, don't have written procedures in how to deal with religious or cultural concerns.

Bedford Police Chief Christian Menzel said his department's regulations covered respecting a person's constitutional rights during arrests.

The general order covers removing glasses during photos, having a female officer process a woman and discussing meals.

Menzel said the policies didn't detail specific religious and cultural issues, such as wigs or turbans. He said the issue had never came up before.

"We do ask that people remove them," he said. "It's a safety issue. We have no specific policy written down. Sometimes common sense and doing the right thing comes into play. Perhaps we need to look into this."

Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty said his department also might review its policies in light of the Ramapo incident. He said the standard practice called for the removal of hairpieces, glasses and hats for mug shots.

"Our procedures don't address the religious aspects," Nulty said. "This is new territory."

Other police departments were more affirmative. Like the state police, Clarkstown Police Chief Peter Noonan said his officers would take photos both with and without hairpieces or glasses.

The U.S. Marshals Service does the same to ensure an accurate photograph for identification.

The Rockland Sheriff's Department would photograph a person both with and without a hairpiece or turban, Detective Lt. William Barbara said.

At the county jail, Chief William Clark said a woman would have to remove her wig for the shower and could be given a scarf or something else to cover her head. He said a man or a woman would be photographed with and without a wig, turban, yarmulke or other religious headwear.

Stony Point police Lt. Peter Quinn said removal of hairpieces and glasses were standard procedure for most departments.

"Sometimes getting arrested can be a humiliating experience," Quinn said. "Maybe the tastelessness of the process will encourage people to commit less crimes."

New Rochelle police Capt. Kevin Kealy said though he couldn't recall specific incidents, a booking officer might want to look under a wig or turban, for example, to ensure there was no contraband hidden there.

"You worry about people having contraband," Kealy said. "We might ask them to remove it for a moment and then put it back on."

His department doesn't have specific procedures to accommodate religious beliefs, other than providing kosher or vegetarian meals for inmates.

In the case of the Westchester Count Public Safety Department, a supervising officer would make the call on whether to have the suspect remove a wig or other headgear, spokesman Kiran O'Leary said.

The decision would be based on whether the item would not compromise the ability of the photo to serve as identification of the person, he said.

O'Leary said an officer would search under the wig or headgear for contraband and that a female officer would process a woman.

Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said police booking a suspect could still respect a person's religious beliefs or cultural mores. He said he was looking to revise police procedures to allow religious women or men to keep their heads covered.

Ramapo police Capt. James Quinn and Detective Lt. Brad Weidel are investigating the incident -interviewing the officer, Cohen, a community rabbi, Cohen's husband and other officers who were present. St. Lawrence said the fact-finding report could be presented Wednesday to the Town Board at its meeting.

St. Lawrence said his motivation was to ensure that people's religious beliefs and cultures were respected even if they were arrested, while still allowing police to do their jobs.

"Our general orders are silent on this issue concerning photographing and fingerprinting when it comes to religious issues like wearing a wig," St. Lawrence said. "We're trying to strengthen our policies."

The police review also will look into why an audio recording system was not working when the officers were booking Cohen. St Lawrence said that would fuel conspiracy theories.

"The tape went blank, and we don't have her on tape," St. Lawrence said. "The police told me there was a problem with the taping system that day."

With Hasidic Jewish community leaders threatening protests, St. Lawrence added to the firestorm immediately after the arrests by apologizing and calling Police Officer Jonathan Quinn insensitive to Cohen's religious beliefs by forcing her to remove her wig for her booking mug. She and her husband had been charged with welfare fraud by the Rockland District Attorney's Office.

Ramapo Policemen's Benevolent Association president, Officer Dennis Procter, said Quinn followed proper procedure and had been unfairly criticized.

Procter said he had received calls from officers and residents across the county supporting the officer, who joined the force four years ago.

Procter said he advised Quinn not to talk to the media about the incident. Quinn has declined comment.

"Everybody is in agreement the officer acted solely on what he was trained to do," Procter said. "Our goal is to protect him. He did nothing wrong. He's a fine officer."

Police Chief Peter Brower said he would review department policy. He said the department routinely modified policies.

He said that despite the recent incident, the Police Department retained a good relationship with the town's Hasidic and Orthodox residents.

"We have a harmonious relationship with the community," Brower said.

Rabbi Simon Lauber of Bikur Cholim will show Ramapo police officers a video about the Jewish culture and religion. He has shown the same video at nursing homes, hospitals and to state police.

Lauber said he doubted police departments upstate, where there are large religious Jewish communities, would have done what Ramapo did.

Lauber said the Ramapo religious community was upset about what happened, but he didn't fault the officer, saying he didn't believe Quinn was being malicious.

"If they have training, they will understand our culture," Lauber said. "He just didn't know. In any community, things work better when people understand one another."

Rabbi Avremal Kotlarsky of Chabad Lubavitcher in New City said the issue of removing a married Jewish woman's wig is a serious issue in the Hasidic community.

He said the Jewish laws on modesty also meant women must remain covered below their elbows and knees and could not have clothing with low necklines. Men also don't expose their bodies and wear specific religious clothing.

"For a woman to have her hair uncovered in public is embarrassing, humiliating and considered being naked," Kotlarsky said.

He said the best way to reconcile the needs of police while upholding the dignity of a religious person was to discuss the issues.

Kotlarsky said he understood that people could change wigs and their appearance. He said the facial features would remain the same and Hasidic Jewish women always wore a wig in public.

"Taking a photo without a wig," he said, "is not giving the police additional information."

Reach Steve Lieberman at slieberm@lohud.com or 845-578-2443.