Hasidic Jew who had hoped to join NYPD is kicked out of police academy over beard length

[rug]

By Associated Press, Published: June 9

NEW YORK — An Orthodox Jew who was weeks away from becoming a New York City police officer said he has been kicked out of the police academy for refusing to trim his beard.

Former recruit Fishel Litzman of Monsey was fired Friday after multiple confrontations with the department over the length of his whiskers, he told the Daily News (http://nydn.us/LDIivf).

Litzman is Hasidic and believes that cutting his beard is forbidden by God.

NYPD rules usually require officers to be clean-shaven. The department makes exceptions for beards kept for religious purposes, but even then only allows 1 millimeter worth of growth.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/hasidic-jew-who-had-hoped-to-join-nypd-is-kicked-out-of-police-academy-over-beard-length/2012/06/09/gJQA5aJCRV_story.html

[MADem]

1. Didn't the guy check the rules before going through the training?

Did he think "Oh, that one millimeter rule for religious exception beards that's here in the manual--they don't mean MEEEE?"

[rug]

4. He did. And the NYPD knew his belief when they hired him.

Litzman’s lawyer said the problem is religious discrimination.

“They knew from when he took the exam and applied that he would not trim his beard,” said Nathan Lewin, a legal heavyweight who has fought and won beard battles on behalf of observant Jews with the Army and Air Force.

“He said from the outset it was a matter of religious observance. He never made a secret of it.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hasidic-nypd-recruit-fired-beard-article-1.1092499

Here's his beard.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1092498.1339206684!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/image.jpg

[MADem]

5. I'm sorry--I don't believe this guy.

If he really had a problem with the whole "cutting the beard is against God's law" that beard would be one HELLUVA lot longer than that!

He just doesn't want to do the "Miami Vice" thing.

I think he should go talk to the other Hasidic officers on the force, and find out how they managed to marry their beliefs with the uniform requirements!

[Woody Woodpecker]

2. The NYPD was right to fire him

If he wanted to be a cop, then he should be a Shromim, not NYPD - their rules are a little more flexible, but you only serve the Jewish communities in Brooklyn.

[rug]

6. That sounds like segregation.

Besides,

http://www.nypdshomrim.org/

[KansDem]

3. Isn't the "no beard" rule based on police safety?

I had read once that professions like law enforcement frown on facial hair, or long hair in general. The premise is if you confront a violent offender and need to resort to "hand-to-hand" tactics like restraining holds, there's a greater chance the offender could grab the beard or long hair during the scuffle, putting the officer at a disadvantage.

Of course, in the day of tasers, this might be an obsolete concept...

[rug]

7. The NYPD has not articulated a reason in this case.

I think you're right, that the rationale is obsolete.

[MADem]

8. In the Navy they like you clean-shaven so your OBA will have a tight seal.

OBA=oxygen breathing apparatus, used during firefighting.

[edhopper]

9. If the NYPD can show it is a matter of safety

he is in the wrong. If it is only cosmetics, then religious accommodation might win the day.
If your religion doesn't allow you to perform your job, you shouldn't do that job.

[MADem]

11. It's probably an issue with a seal on the gas masks used in riot control.

Just like USN firefighting equipment--that's what killed the beard in that branch of service. Previous to that, Navy personnel had some of the finest beards in the land--they were an absolute point of pride for some servicemembers.

When the edict came down, people learned that a lot of those beards were covering a multitude of sins!

[rocktivity]

10. It's a safety measure, plain and simple.

If upholding your religious beliefs disqualify you from a job, then you only apply for jobs that allow you to uphold your religious beliefs.


rocktivity