By Rocco Parascandola
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Scores of NYPD officers have turned to the Bible to avoid shaving off their beards, police sources said.
A recent edict that cops dress neater banned beards, but allowed for both religious and medical accommodations. Now, an untold number of cops — the NYPD could not provide statistics — have said their religious rights would be violated were they forced to go clean-shaven.
“It’s in the Bible,” said one Manhattan officer. “Leviticus. I got the accommodation.”
“Leviticus, bro,” said another officer in Brooklyn. “I’m Catholic.”
Members of certain religious groups do not shave their beards and one passage gaining popularity among cops right now is from the Hebrew bible book of Leviticus. “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard,” reads the passage in Leviticus 19:27. Several police sources word of that passage has spread quickly since the new beard ban went into effect last month.
What’s unclear if all those seeking the exemption are doing so for genuine religious reasons or are simply trying to keep their beards intact. The ban allows for an accommodation for those with “sincerely held” religious beliefs.
But trying to determine what “sincerely held” is tricky. Challenging an officer’s beliefs could prompt another lawsuit, the sources said, though one police source suggested the NYPD might take a closer look to make sure their claims are legitimate.
Patrick Hendry, head of the Police Benevolent Association, said the union will be watching to make sure the NYPD doesn’t violate any officer’s religious rights.
He also said the NYPD should worry itself with more critical matters.
“Facial hair has no impact on police officers’ job performance or our public safety mission,” Hendry said. “The NYPD has far more important issues to worry about, especially the fact that we are understaffed by thousands and losing hundreds of talented cops every month.
“New Yorkers would rather see a cop with a well-groomed beard patrolling their neighborhood than see no cop at all.”
Except for those with religious or medical accommodations, for most of its history beards were a no-no in the NYPD. The tide shifted in 2016, first to accommodate the growing number of Sihks who became police officers — or school or traffic enforcement agents, who are subjected to the same facial hair mandates as cops.
Two years later, a settlement was reached after Officer Masood Syed, a Sunni Muslim, sued the NYPD after he was suspended for refusing to trim his one-inch beard. The NYPD subsequently said any officer could grow a beard.
The ban on facial hair, other than mustaches, follows a crackdown on sloppy-looking cops.
The News reported in April that the NYPD has banned shorts for cops on transit beats and white turtlenecks for any officer on patrol.
The updated style guide also instructs patrol officers not to wear tactical cargo pants and reinforces longstanding rules, including a ban on shoelaces that are not black.
Inspector Paul Saraceno, who led the committee that conducted an internal review of how cops look these days, presented the crackdown as an effort to ensure a uniform, professional-looking force, rather than a product of any specific faux pas.
“I believe that in every profession, if you take it seriously and you act professionally, you dress professionally, you present yourself the same way, it revolves around everything you do,” Saraceno said.
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