WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsGa. woman sues Atlanta police over hijab dispute
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Associated Press - December 29, 2009 11:24 AM ET
ATLANTA (AP) - 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 headscarf.
Helen Lane says in a federal lawsuit filed this week 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 $250,000 in damages, said she was 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.
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