Settlement Reached With Muslim Woman

A lawsuit brought against the Warren County Regional Jail and certain staff members has been dismissed and settled outside of court.

The legal action was brought by a Muslim woman, who claimed her religious rights were taken away when she was asked to remove her hijab upon being booked at the jail. She also claimed the jail livestreamed her strip search in the facility’s lobby.

The jail’s inmate dressing room is the room where the search happened, and it does not contain any security cameras or recording devices, according to the statement.

The original complaint named several people, including Warren County Judge/Executive Doug Gorman, Warren County Jailer Stephen Harmon, Deputy Jailer Brooke L. Harp, a Bowling Green police officer, and two officers at the Warren County Regional Jail.

The woman, who filed the lawsuit anonymously, agreed to dismiss all of the claims against most of the people except Harmon and Harp. The settlement also dismissed the remaining claims against them.

As a term of the settlement, the woman agreed to retract the claims about the strip search since they were false. The other terms of the settlement called for the destruction of the woman’s booking photograph, a $25,000 payout, and a policy amendment at the jail regarding booking photographs and procedures.

The woman was originally charged with second-degree assault (domestic violence), which is considered a violent felony offense.

The jail often conducts a strip search of incoming inmates with those charges to screen them for weapons, drugs, and other contraband. The search was conducted by a female officer and was legal, according to a statement from Jailer Harmon.

The jail has also agreed to revise its booking photo policy, which will now allow people booked into the jail to keep their religious head covering on as long as their facial features are visible. Inmates wearing a religious head covering will be informed of their right to continue wearing the covering as a part of the booking process.

Incoming inmates will be required to remove the head covering and allow the head to be searched, the statement said, but will be allowed to wear it afterward. The search will also be conducted outside the presence of members of the opposite sex, according to the new policy.

The monetary terms of the settlement will be paid from Warren County’s liability insurance and at no cost to tax payers. The settlement was made only after the woman agreed to publicly retract her false allegations.

The county also agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid more litigation costs.
Source: WBKO