A woman has filed a civil lawsuit against Denton County and three county correctional officers claiming they forced her to remove her hijab after being booked into jail.
The suit filed by Tanya Victoria claims that Denton County policies, practices and customs directly violate the First Amendment and other federal and state laws.
Victoria was forced to remain without her hijab for about 12 to 15 hours of pre-arraignment detention, in full view of men who are unrelated to her, violating her sincerely held religious beliefs, the suit reads.
“Pursuant to said policies, practices, and customs, Denton County correctional officers forced Tanya Victoria to remove her religiously mandated hair covering (hereinafter ‘hijab’) prior to entering the Denton County Jail after arrest and withheld her hijab the entire time she was in custody, despite Ms. Victoria’s constant objection that the removal of her hijab directly violated her sincerely held religious beliefs and obligations as a Muslim woman,” the suit reads.
In the suit, Victoria, who resides in Denton County, is described as a Muslim woman who has been wearing the hijab for about 10 years and believes it to be a central tenet of her faith.
On March 1, Victoria was apprehended by law enforcement at a Walmart on a Class B misdemeanor charge, according to the suit.
Victoria was transported by the arresting officer, a man, to the Denton County Jail and escorted through the controlled entrance to the building.
While still at the garage, a female correctional officer allegedly told Victoria to remove her hijab and her shoes.
“I can’t take off my hijab. I wear it because of my religion,” Victoria told the female officer, according to the suit.
The correctional officer told Victoria it didn’t matter what she said because it’s policy to require everyone booked to remove their headwear, the lawsuit says.
“No, the hijab is not one of the things you are allowed to keep on in here,” the officer allegedly told Victoria.
The suit says Victoria continues to feel traumatized, dehumanized, violated and exposed, as well as psychologically distraught, as a result of being forced to remove her hijab and take a photograph without it. She reported suffering changes in appetite, anxiety, paranoia and trauma from the episode.
A notice of suit was served on the Denton County Sheriff’s Office on May 9 with filing on July 1.
Victoria claims that officers knew, or should have known, when booking her into the jail that their policies would not meet constitutional obligations to protect and preserve her free expression of religion.
Victoria wants to prevent Denton County from requiring the removal of any religious head or hair coverings while an arrestee or detainee is in custody, adopt nondiscriminatory policies, have all of her photographs removed and deleted from all databases and be awarded compensatory relief/damages.
The Denton Record-Chronicle reached out to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Orlando Hinojosa for comment Wednesday regarding the suit.