Washington DC – The Houston Police Department has joined a group of law enforcement agencies across the U.S. to allow religious minorities to wear clothes and other items important to their faith typically prohibited by strict uniform policies. Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo have been working together with SALDEF Regional Director Bobby Singh to ensure accommodations are provided to anyone looking to serve Houston’s Law Enforcement Agencies.
The potential change in policy comes in the wake of the tragic death of Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal last month, which inspired Chief Acevedo and the department to expedite the process of creating a permanent religious accommodation policy.
“Let’s not wait until we hire someone,” said Chief Acevedo in announcing his intention to work towards an accommodation. “Let’s send the message that we’re an inclusive department, and we’re doing it in his honor and memory.”
This exciting news comes after the successful collaboration between SALDEF and the Harris County Sheriff’s Department in 2015, to become the largest law enforcement department to date to allow Sikh Americans to serve as officers while keeping their articles of faith intact, including the dastaar (Sikh turban) and beard.
READ: Texas sheriff allows Sikh officers to wear beards, turbans (Washington Post)
“I want to commend Mayor Sylvester Turner and HPD Chief Art Acevedo for their progressive leadership where we continue to amplify that one does not have to choose between service and faith,” said SALDEF Regional Director Bobby Singh who has been leading this work on behalf of the Houston Sikh American community. Singh said, “Houston is among the most diverse major cities in the country and now the Houston Police Department is making a tremendous statement in being inclusive of all residents. We look forward to working with the Chief and Mayor on advancing this policy and creating history again, here in Texas.”
We encourage you to find out if your law enforcement agency has an accommodation policy so we can ensure that Sikh Americans are able to join law enforcement agencies nationwide, free from having to abandon their religious identity. Please email info@ saldef.org if you are interested in ensuring your state or local law enforcement has an accommodation policy.