Atlanta police sued in head scarf dispute

Associated Press

A Muslim woman is claiming in a federal lawsuit that she was dismissed from the Atlanta Police Department’s civilian honor guard because she refused to remove her traditional head scarf.

Helen Lane alleges that the head of the voluntary guard laughed at her when she told him she would wear her hijab at a September 2006 funeral. She said she felt “humiliated, hurt and was traumatized” by the laughter.

Lane, who is seeking $240,000 in damage, said she told by another Atlanta official that “the hijab was like a swastika.” The city has denied the allegations and the honor guard has since been disbanded.