HPD asked to revise frisking rules

[WildBill]

A Muslim protester is calling for revision of the frisking process at the Houston Police Department after she said she was stripped of her religious headscarf during a recent arrest this month while rallying for janitor wages.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 798680.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RPB]

People All Across the Country Wear Hoodies to Church
http://fox4kc.com/2012/03/26/people-all ... to-church/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Soon they won't be able to "look under the hood"

Transformer hoodie facepalm

[77346]

I appreciate her right to wear a religious headscarf... but she needs to understand that by getting herself arrested she could be losing that right -at least for a moment- and in a situation that may be uncomfortable to her.

She made a choice (protesting) and should have been aware of the possibilities (i.e. getting arrested, frisked, having to take off headscarf, etc.).

[JALLEN]

Who did the frisking?

Muslim females above the age of puberty are not supposed to be seen by male non-relatives without their hair covered, except on their wedding day.

Women are usually "frisked" by women officers, so what's the big deal?

[WildBill]

Who did the frisking?

Muslim females above the age of puberty are not supposed to be seen by male non-relatives without their hair covered, except on their wedding day.

Women are usually "frisked" by women officers, so what's the big deal?

Minutes later, Alazzeh was approached by a different female officer who began the frisking process and started unwrapping her headscarf in plain view of male officers and protesters.

"Whoa, whoa! This is my religious headscarf," she told the officer as she tried to back away. "Can't you just feel through it?" she asked.

[C-dub]

Couldn't she have just not broken the law?

[Heartland Patriot]

And what keeps a terrorist from hiding things where they can then complain that their rights were being violated while being frisked? Not worded well, but I hope you get my point. BTW, there are a few organizations that have pointed out that certain folks go out of their way to create a problem, to then get the "solution" they REALLY want...

[hillfighter]

Part of living in the United States is living according to US law. If you break the law, there are consequences.

If she wants to live according to Sharia law, she could move to Saudi Arabia and try protesting there.

[Jumping Frog]

SEIU union thug troublemaker imported from DC to protest illegally.

Far as I am concerned, they can strip search her on the sidewalk in front of City Hall.

[E.Marquez]

Part of living in the United States is living according to US law. If you break the law, there are consequences.

If she wants to live according to Sharia law, she could move to Saudi Arabia and try protesting there.

THIS ^


I love that people immigrate to the US, when they contribute to the country in there own way (positive ways) it can only make our country better.

BUT.. IF you come here, it's to come here and become part of the US, that means follow OUR laws... heck,, your LEAVING your country for a reason...


And as to this woman,, if she is so concerned about your religious position and rights.., why is she outside the home in the first place?? The same religion that required her to wear that head scarf, requires that she be killed to protect the honor of the family now...... Ya want the the religious protections, you should have to get the religious compleat package.

[recaffeination]

If the police can disarm me while I'm merely detained during a traffic stop, that's a much bigger civil right violation than de-scarfing someone who was arrested and hauled away.

[Sangiovese]

This will probably be an unpopular point of view, but I think it is one that should be put out for consideration.

I think that we should make real attempts to be sensitive to the cultural and religious beliefs of people with whom our law enforcement officials come into contact. But I also think that officers need to be able to do their jobs... and that often involves searching for weapons.

I totally agree with removing her headscarf to search. I would also agree with removing a nun's veil. And I would expect an officer to check under my hat if I'm wearing one.

However, the officer can be respectful when doing this. If the article is correct in reporting that the officer said, "if you want your religious headscarf, you shouldn't protest" then I think this is something that could use improvement. A simple, "I understand, but I need to search under it and then you can put it back on" would have accomplished the same thing, and been much more respectful.

Just because we don't agree with a protest doesn't mean that we should treat the protesters in a manner in which we wouldn't want ourselves or family members treated. Our nation was founded by protesters. One of our fundamental rights is the right to protest. "...the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." We shouldn't demonize folks for protesting in an effort to bring about change, even if we disagree with the change they are seeking.

If a protester is breaking the law, then arrest them. If you need to search them, then search them. But why not remain professional and respectful while doing so?

I understand that LEOs deal with a lot of junk and get a lot of grief. They see the worst elements of our society ever day. I'm sure that makes it hard to take the high road and stay professional in your dealings with people, especially when they breaking the law. But is it more than we are willing to ask of them? Make your own call, but I don't think it is too much to expect. I expect them to treat people with as much dignity as the situation allows, whether they are dealing with another government official, a respected member of the community, or a miscreant who was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

[JALLEN]

It sounds to me, based on what was added to my information above, that the frisk was done professionally and respectfully, by western non-muslim views. After puberty, Muslim women are not to be seen with their hair uncovered by male non relatives. The problem here was the presence of males in the vicinity. To a Muslim woman it is the equivalent of a strip search.

For many years, I had an Arab client who lived here. One day, we went to his condominium near noon, unannounced. His wife, who knew me pretty well, was sitting in the living room, no scarf but otherwise fully clothed. When the door opened, and she realized I was arriving, she shrieked and ran from the room in full gallop, disappeared into the bedroom and reappeared some moments later scarf on head.

Are we going to require the police to do the frisking in complete privacy to accommodate this cultural sensitivity?

[Sangiovese]

It sounds to me, based on what was added to my information above, that the frisk was done professionally and respectfully, by western non-muslim views. After puberty, Muslim women are not to be seen with their hair uncovered by male non relatives. The problem here was the presence of males in the vicinity. To a Muslim woman it is the equivalent of a strip search.

For many years, I had an Arab client who lived here. One day, we went to his condominium near noon, unannounced. His wife, who knew me pretty well, was sitting in the living room, no scarf but otherwise fully clothed. When the door opened, and she realized I was arriving, she shrieked and ran from the room in full gallop, disappeared into the bedroom and reappeared some moments later scarf on head.

Are we going to require the police to do the frisking in complete privacy to accommodate this cultural sensitivity?

I don't think it would be reasonable to expect complete privacy for a frisk. My only issue with what was done in this case was what the officer is reported to have said to the arrested woman. I wouldn't have even responded to the thread about it, except there seems to be an attitude along the lines of, those dang protesters have no rights... if immigrants come here, they need to respect our laws. (Quotes for illustration: "far as I'm concerned they can strip search her on the sidewalk" and "she could move to Saudi Arabia...")

Part of loving the freedoms that we enjoy is recognizing that those freedoms apply even when they are exercised in a way that goes opposite of our beliefs. If a nun were arrested at a pro life rally and when the officer searching her told her to remove her veil and said, "if you want your religious headscarf, you shouldn't protest" while taking it from her, there would very likely be a cry of outrage. And if she happened to be a nun from up north who traveled down for the protest, we certainly wouldn't be seeing calls for her to be strip searched on the sidewalk.

All I'm saying is that we should demand the same treatment for people whose views with disagree with as for those with whom we agree.

[Teamless]

There should not be a separate frisking or processing policy for one person over another, period.
If my hat comes off, your headdress comes off.
If my shoes come off, your sandals come off
If my belt comes off, your belt comes off

The only thing that can be considered, and this is ONLY to protect the police officer for lawsuits, is a female should frisk a female, so there is nothing said (or nothing should be said) about a man "feeling her up" or "getting his jollies"

As others have said "move them to a separate room", well, if you give them a separate (or closed) area for frisking/processing, I had darn well get one too.

Equality was pushed for a couple hundred years.
it took until 1865 for blacks (males) to be considered equal in the eyes of the court
It took until 1920 or so, for woman to get the right to vote, and be considered equal
it took until the mid 60's for more black equality
It took until the early 70's with the burning of the bra's protesting for women to be treated equally
(You can debate on another thread if the above are truly, or were truly, treated equally.)

And now people want to be treated UNEQUAL?