ECBAWM Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit on Behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York and Two Protesters Who Were Brutally Assaulted by NYPD Officers
March 10, 2025
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Redmond Haskins
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***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
ECBAWM Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit on Behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York and Two Protesters Who Were Brutally Assaulted by NYPD Officers
Zarmeen Azam and Shajnin Howlader Had Their Hijabs Forcefully Removed by NYPD Officers While Peacefully Protesting
The Council on American-Islamic Relations New York’s Mission to Empower Muslims Has Been Directly Harmed by the NYPD’s Growing Practice of Publicly Removing Women’s Hijabs, a Violation of Law and the Wearer’s Faith
Counsel and Plaintiffs are Available for Interview Today Upon Request
(NEW YORK, NY) - Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against the City of New York and individual New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers on behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York (CAIR-NY), as well as Zarmeen Azam and Shajnin Howlader—two individuals who were brutally assaulted, including being strangled, and had their hijabs forcefully removed by NYPD officers while peacefully protesting.
Being forced to remove a hijab—a headscarf that covers one’s hair, ears, neck, and parts of one’s chest—in public, particularly in the presence of men who are not immediate family, is a profound violation of the wearer’s sincerely held religious beliefs and practices.
These incidents appear to be part of a growing police practice of forcibly and publicly removing women’s hijabs at protests as a form of brutal crowd control, directly harming the mission of CAIR-NY, which aims to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower Muslims.
This lawsuit seeks compensation for Ms. Howlader and Ms. Azam for severe physical and emotional harm, as well as for CAIR-NY for the impairment of its mission and core activities. The suit also seeks policy change, asking the court to declare that the NYPD is never permitted to forcibly and publicly remove women’s hijabs and enjoin such conduct in the future.
“Ms. Azam and Ms. Howlader were both brutally assaulted by the NYPD while peacefully protesting and had their hijabs forcibly removed—a clear violation of their constitutional free speech rights, religious rights, and rights to bodily integrity,” said Andrew Wilson, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP who, together with Hafsa S. Mansoor, represents the plaintiffs. “These incidents are not outliers. They reflect a disturbing and growing pattern of the NYPD using force and intimidation to suppress peaceful protest and the religious rights of Muslim women. The removal of a hijab is not just an act of aggression—it’s an assault on deeply held religious beliefs. This outrageous practice undermines the critical mission and core activities of CAIR-NY to empower Muslim New Yorkers.”
“I came home that night completely traumatized, my body aching from being shoved and grabbed by policemen, my hair and scalp full of pain. I have been unable to sleep properly since then without flashbacks to my hijab being forcefully pulled off my hair bun. I never encountered anything similar. I feel so many emotions. I want justice for myself and other hijabis who experienced similar degrading experiences that night,” Ms. Howlader said. “In the months since this brutality by the NYPD, I have met other hijabis who have experienced similar. This only makes me feel more uncomfortable knowing that my case is not a singular offense, but rather a continued and repeated assault on Muslim women who practice wearing the hijab. I do not feel confident that the NYPD stands for the safety of women like me. I demand accountability. This should never happen again to
another person.”
“Wearing my hijab is an act of faith, identity, and dignity. The NYPD ripped it off me as if none of that mattered. In that moment, I felt not only stripped of my dignity but also my safety and my honor. I was left with bruises, aching for over a week, and emotionally shattered, a pain that lasted for months. I’ve never felt so vulnerable and so humiliated in my entire life. I never imagined I would get choked with my own hijab, dragged across the floor by it, and then have it ripped off, let alone not be able to put it back on until I was locked in my cell. It was so degrading,” Ms. Azam said. “But this incident goes beyond just me. It is a reality for every hijabi who faces the constant threat of having her honor stripped at these protests, her hijab weaponized to humiliate her. They degrade us and humiliate us in an attempt to silence us, but we will not be silenced. No woman should have to endure this kind of brutality simply for wearing her hijab and exercising her right to protest.”
Christina John, Staff Attorney with the Legal Team at CAIR-NY, stated: “The NYPD’s treatment of hijab-wearing Muslim women is egregious because of the physical brutality, the violation of bodily autonomy, and the infringement on religious rights. Such abuse by law enforcement risks silencing and deterring Shajnin, Zarmeen, and other women from safely exercising their First Amendment rights. This nefarious strategy of silencing Muslim women from protesting and expressing themselves underscores a troubling pattern of misconduct that demands immediate and thorough accountability. As an advocacy organization, it is our duty to ensure the rights of all, including Muslim women who exercise their First Amendment rights, are fully protected.”
Both Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD purport to understand and respect the importance of the hijab for Muslim women, and for last month’s World Hijab Day, issued separate statements of support.
The August 14, 2024 Protest
On August 14, 2024, Ms. Howlader and Ms. Azam, who wear the hijab as a mandatory aspect of their Muslim identity and faith, were peacefully protesting outside a fundraiser featuring various elected officials. Several hours later, after the fundraiser ended, the demonstration moved to a new location, where it was met with an overwhelming police presence, including officers from the NYPD’s controversial Strategic Response Group. The police surrounded the protestors on all sides and began pushing the group with their bodies and bicycles.
Sergeant Spalding Attacks Ms. Howlader
Ms. Shajnin Howlader was targeted by NYPD officers and surrounded by police in a small area with no space to move. Ms. Howlader pleaded with the officers but was forcefully pushed by Assistant Chief Ruel Stephenson. Sergeant Joseph Spalding then grabbed her hijab and yanked it, causing it to become tangled around her neck and cutting off her ability to breathe.
Despite her desperate pleas, including shouting “I can't breathe”, the officer did not release his grip. Other protestors eventually intervened, freeing her from the chokehold, but not before she was also pepper-sprayed by another officer. She did not face arrest, but the officers who witnessed the assault failed to intervene. The incident caused Ms. Howlader extreme physical and emotional trauma, leading to flashbacks, sleep issues, and a fear of crowds.
Sergeant Spalding’s disciplinary record: https://tinyurl.com/m4vyna5x
Assistant Chief Stephenson Attacks Ms. Azam
Ms. Zarmeen Azam experienced a similar traumatic encounter with the police, where Assistant Chief Stephenson placed her in a stranglehold, making it difficult for her to breathe and ultimately ripping her hijab off her head. Stephenson violently dragged Ms. Azam through the crowd in a stranglehold with one hand while he swung his baton at protestors with the other. Another officer continued the arrest, inappropriately pulling up Ms. Azam’s shirt and ignoring her requests to stop. During the arrest, an officer took a photo of her without her hijab. Several other officers witnessed the abuse but did not intervene.
At the police precinct, Ms. Azam was denied the opportunity to adjust her hijab, and one officer even threw part of the scarf on her face, leaving her hair exposed. When she was later uncuffed, her hijab was damaged and could no longer cover her hair properly. Ms. Azam was charged with disorderly conduct, but the charges were dismissed. She suffered physical injuries, significant pain, and emotional trauma, including humiliation and mental health issues, due to the exposure and violation of her rights.
Video of Assistant Chief Stephenson choking Ms. Azam: https://tinyurl.com/y3nx52nv
Assistant Chief Stephenson’s disciplinary record: https://tinyurl.com/787txpz5
Growing NYPD Practice of Illegally and Forcefully Removing Women’s Hijabs
In recent months, several women, in addition to Ms. Howlader and Ms. Azam, have reported that NYPD officers aggressively ripped off their hijabs during protests. At least five other women have shared similar experiences with CAIR-NY from incidents last June, July, August, and September where officers at protests violently removed their hijabs, causing significant physical and emotional harm. In some cases, the NYPD also took photos of the women without their hijabs. These women believe many others have had similar experiences, with hijabs being removed not only during arrests but also at other points—either before or after an arrest, or even without an arrest occurring at all.
CAIR-NY is a nonprofit organization that has long served as a frontline responder to abuses of the civil rights of New York’s Muslim community. CAIR-NY is dedicated to enhancing the understanding of Islam, protecting civil rights, promoting justice, and empowering Muslims. It supports victims of hate crimes and discrimination, works to end unjust profiling and surveillance and counter Islamophobic rhetoric through media relations, educates New Yorkers through workshops and publications, champions fair and just legislation and policies, and promotes community activism and civic engagement.
The NYPD’s practice of tearing off protestors’ hijabs impairs and interferes with CAIR-NY’s ability to protect the civil rights of New York’s Muslim population and empower them. For instance, the NYPD’s behavior weakens CAIR-NY’s ability to support hate crime victims. When victims fear the police, who are responsible for protecting their rights, investigating crimes, and prosecuting offenders, they are denied justice. Likewise, CAIR-NY's efforts to empower Muslims to exercise their First Amendment rights and defend religious liberty are hindered when the NYPD's actions suppress those very rights.
This pattern suggests that the NYPD has a practice of using forcible hijab removal as a form of crowd control and intimidation, suppressing free speech and religious expression. This practice has deterred women from participating in protests, fearing the violation of their rights to both free speech and the free exercise of their religion.
Last year, ECBAWM secured a $17.5 million settlement for people who were forced to remove their religious head coverings for post-arrest photos. Under the terms of the settlement, more than 3,600 class members were eligible for payments of approximately $7,000 to $13,000. The settlement came nearly four years after the NYPD agreed to change its policy on religious head coverings and as the NYPD faced allegations it illegally retained mugshots as part of its facial recognition surveillance program.
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Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP is a nationally-recognized litigation boutique that focuses on civil rights, commercial, criminal, and ethics matters. Our civil rights practice includes wrongful convictions, sexual harassment and assault, police and prison misconduct, children’s and disability rights, housing rights, election law, all forms of discrimination, and class actions. Our commercial practice includes complex commercial litigation, partnership disputes, real estate and land use, investigations, ethics and discipline, and appeals. www.ecbawm.com