ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609190060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH
SOURCE: ANGELITA PLEMMER\LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
TWO WOMEN SAY they were sexually fondled by police during a patdown.
The police department is investigating an incident in which two Muslim women say they were taken into custody by police officers for wearing face veils in public.
The women, who are practicing members of the Islamic faith and wear traditional Muslim garb called hijab, claim that two officers handcuffed them and then fondled them during a patdown for weapons.
The women were transported to police headquarters and later released without being charged. They are not being identified because they claim to be victims of a sexual assault.
Police acknowledged that the women were detained after an officer stopped them from entering a local store while wearing their religious veils.
The officer thought the women were wearing ``masks'' in public, a violation of the state code, said Amber Whittaker, a spokeswoman for the police department.
Asked if the women were searched according to guidelines specified by the police department, Whittaker responded in a statement, ``That is unknown at this time - currently under review.''
The Muslim women filed a formal complaint Tuesday against the department.
The women said it is a violation of Islamic law for a woman to be touched by a man other than her husband, father or son.
They described how they were detained on suspicion of committing a felony.
The women said they had left their house of worship Sunday night to buy candy and other sweets for their children. They drove to a Rack & Sack store.
The women said they were walking toward the store when they were approached by a Portsmouth police officer. Both women wore loose fitting, ankle-length clothing and head scarves. One of the women wore a veil that revealed only her eyes.
The women refused to remove their veils despite the officer's insistence and said they would shop elsewhere, but they were handcuffed by the arresting officer and his partner, the women said. A third officer arrived later, they said.
The women said they asked if a female officer could be called to search them, but the arresting officer told them no female officer was available.
One of the women said two officers held her while a third officer touched her chest, buttocks and genital area. They also kept pressing her stomach, asking if she were pregnant.
The second woman said an officer squeezed her in the chest area and her buttocks.
After the women were released, they contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, an Islamic advocacy group.
Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock said the state code does not allow masks to be worn in public, but an annotation in the code cites case law that allows an exemption for religious practices. The law was originally targeted to outlaw the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, in which members disguised themselves by wearing white sheets.
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