Queens pol blasts state police for alleged discrimination
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Assemblymember David Weprin was joined by President of the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association Charlie Murphy, leaders of the Sikh Officers Association, Assemblymember Edward Braunstein, City Councilmember Lynn Schulman and members of the Sikh community in Richmond Hill over the weekend to condemn the New York State Police for alleged religious discrimination. Photo via Weprin
By Jacob Kaye
A Queens lawmaker is calling on the leader of the New York State Police to immediately implement guidelines that protect officers against discrimination based on religious attire, clothing or facial hair.
Queens Assemblymember David Weprin said the New York State Police recently violated state law when they attempted to prevent one of their officers, a Sikh man, from growing out a beard ahead of his wedding. Now, Weprin, who authored a bill passed into law in 2019 that aims to protect New Yorkers from discrimination based on religious garb or grooming, is calling on the acting superintendent of the state’s police force to follow the state law and prevent similar alleged offenses from taking place in the future.
“I am deeply alarmed that the individual tasked with upholding and enforcing our state’s laws… is not himself following the law,” Weprin said.
Over the weekend, Weprin was joined by President of the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association Charlie Murphy, leaders of the Sikh Officers Association, Assemblymember Edward Braunstein, City Councilmember Lynn Schulman and members of the Sikh community in Richmond Hill.
Standing outside the Sikh Cultural Society’s Gurdwara, they called on Steven Nigrelli, the acting superintendent of the New York State Police to immediately put policies into place that include clear guidelines that allow for officers of all religious backgrounds to receive accommodations when necessary.
“The law is pretty clear,” Weprin, who represents a portion of one of the largest Sikh communities in New York, said of the 2019 legislation that he is now calling on Nigrelli and the NYSP to follow. “It wasn’t ambiguous at all.”
The law, which was sponsored in the State Senate by Queens Senator John Liu, states that it’s unlawful for an employer to impose terms of employment that require an employee or potential employee to have to violate their religion, including the wearing of any attire, clothing or facial hair in accordance with their religion.
Weprin said it was that statute that was violated earlier this year when Trooper Charanjot “C.J.” Tiwana, a Sikh New Yorker, began to grow out his beard in accordance with his Sikh faith for his upcoming wedding.
Officials with the NYSP said that they could not accommodate the growing of a beard – they cited potential conflicts in situations where an officer may need to don a gas mask, which Weprin said is a rarity. The New York State Police also require their troopers to be clean shaven.
According to the lawmaker and the officer’s union, Tiwana was placed on desk duty and was also given a leave of absence.
“No one should be forced to live in two worlds, to hide their religious identity at work, to live a double life, or to choose between their faith and serving their community,” Weprin said.
Murphy, the head of the officers’ union, also condemned the New York State Police in a statement.
“As president of the New York State Troopers PBA, I applaud the efforts of Assemblyman David Weprin in championing Trooper Charanjot “C.J.” Tiwana’s right to freely exercise his religious beliefs without persecution and advocating for his cause in the face of the Division of State Police’s refusal to recognize his constitutional right to observe the tenets of his Sikhism faith,” Murphy said.
“All New Yorkers, including law enforcement officers, must be free from employer oppression when practicing their religion,” Murphy added. “We look forward to working side-by-side with Assemblyman Weprin to assist Trooper Tiwana and we ask the Governor to support us in protecting the constitutional rights of our member.”
In a statement to the Eagle, a spokesperson for the New York State Police said that the law enforcement agency has a reasonable accommodation policy that includes religious exemptions.
“We value diversity, equity and inclusion among our ranks. As with every request for a religious or medical accommodation for any NYSP employee, we engage in the reasonable accommodation process,” the spokesperson said.
The New York State Police recently did not accommodate a Sikh officer growing out his beard for religious reasons, claims Assemblymember David Weprin. File photo by Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
“We have recently updated our guidelines with respect to facial hair that addresses both the request for an exemption from our clean-shaven policy, and our members safety, which is paramount,” the spokesperson added. “The New York State Policy Uniform and Equipment Committee is currently working on a policy for the design and issuance of turbans.”
Weprin said that he’d heard similar promises from Nigrelli in recent months when bringing Tiwana’s case to the law enforcement leader. While the lawmaker said he appreciates the dedication to change, it may be a case of too little, too late.
“All of a sudden they're reacting to it, saying they're revising their policy, they're reviewing their policy, they're going to come out with some statement about beards and about turbans – but the chapter that I sponsored, which has been the law since 2019, it was very clear,” Weprin said.
Liu also condemned the NYSP in a statement.
“It is disgraceful that any state entity has yet to change its policies to comply with this now long-standing law,” the lawmaker said. “To make matters worse, the NYS Police should be first in line to comply with new directives, but are still actively barring a trooper of the Sikh faith from growing facial hair and wearing a turban, which is not only in accordance with his religious beliefs, but also his right under state law.”
“We call on the State Police to make the implementation of this law a top priority and live up to its motto of serving the people of New York State with the highest degree of fairness, professionalism and integrity,” he added.
