Fishel Litzman: Hasidic police cadet files religious discrimination lawsuit against NYPD
The NYPD is facing a lawsuit from a former cadet who claims he was dismissed from the training program because he would not shave his beard.
Fishel Litzman, a Hasidic Jew from Monsey, NY, said he consistently scored high on exams, but was cited for failure to maintain his appearance, when he refused to trim his beard.
The NYPD said it tried to accommodate Litzman, by asking him to keep his beard under 1 millimeter in length, but he refused. He was barred from the program for unspecified reasons one month before he was due to receive his shield.
Litzman and his lawyer are claiming he was a victim of religious discrimination. Litzman’s lawyer said he would not seek monetary damages if he is reinstated into the Police Academy.
“This fellow just wants to be a police officer,” attorney Nathan Lewin wrote in a letter to Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo, according to the Daily News.
