HPD Goes to Court to Uphold Ban on Beards

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City Council voted Wednesday to spend up to $150,000 to hire outside lawyers to defend the city's no-beard policy for police.

Despite the unanimous vote, council members spent more than an hour discussing the policy and questioning whether it discriminated against men who cannot shave because of medical or religious reasons.

"The lawsuit is pending and we have to defend ourselves," Councilman Ron Green said. "But we're basically saying we want new police officers, but we don't want police officers with beards.

"We are struggling to get police officers on the street," he added. "Is it the type of issue that we want to spend resources and money on?"

Four black officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city last November, claiming discrimination because shaving exacerbates a skin condition that disproportionately affects black men.

Pseudofolliculitis barbae is a dermatological condition common among men with thick and curly facial hair. Shaving can cause irritating rashes, ingrown hairs, bleeding and scarring.

Officers with beards are barred from wearing the Houston Police Department uniform. The officers who filed suit were reassigned to plainclothes jobs.

Three of the officers spoke before council Wednesday.

They contended the policy unfairly impacts their earning potential, both within HPD and at secondary jobs.

"It prevents me from working in divisions where you can only work in uniform," said Sgt. Shelby Stewart. "If I work an extra job in a dangerous area, I look like a security guard. That makes it more dangerous for me and the people around me, because they don't even know I'm a police officer."

Mayor Bill White said HPD policies should not be dictated by whether they facilitate outside employment.

"Off-duty jobs should be privileges, not rights," he said.

White said he would not micromanage the Police Department and would allow Chief Harold Hurtt to set policies concerning discipline and professional appearance.

"Many in HPD have a lot of pride in their appearance," the mayor said. "It meets the expectation of the public of what a law enforcement officer or member of the military, for that matter, ought to look like."

HPD's clean-shaven policy was instituted in 1993, so uniformed police officers looked conservative and professional, according to a memo provided by the city's Legal Department.

The policy was not regularly enforced until after Sept. 11, 2001, and after Hurtt became chief, mayoral spokesman Frank Michel said. After 9/11, gas masks were given to all uniformed officers, and beards prevent an adequate seal with the gas mask, the memo said.

The three officers denied the policy was for their safety. They said they have tested the gas masks and got good seals. The police department also could buy different masks that work with beards, they said.

The Sikh religion requires men to wear beards, Councilman M.J. Khan pointed out. He said he wanted to talk to the chief about why the policy is in place. "If something is discriminatory in nature and is part of our policy, what kind of message are we sending about Houston to the rest of the country?" Khan asked.

"I'd love to see a policy change," said Councilwoman Jolanda Jones, who is African-American. "I have extremely coarse hair and for years because of societal pressures, I used chemical relaxers."

The chemicals burned her scalp and left scars, she said. Eventually, she just cropped her hair very close.

"After years of being tortured, I just said screw it," Jones said. "I think it's analogous."