DEARBORN, Mich. – A Muslim woman who accused Dearborn police of violating her constitutional rights when they forced her to remove a headscarf has dropped her lawsuit against the city and the police department.
In a statement Wednesday, the city said an attorney for Maha Aldhalimi dropped the lawsuit last week when showed video evidence from the city's investigation. The city said the allegations were "recklessly made" and that Aldhalimi claims that she was coerced into removing her religious head covering, known as a hijab, were false.
Aldhalimi's lawsuit claimed her First and Fourteenth amendment rights were violated when she was ordered to remove the hijab for a photo at the police department in 2014 after being arrested for an unpaid parking violation. She said she finally agreed to remove it under threat.
Police Chief Ron Haddad said, "An extensive internal investigation revealed no wrongdoing" and that, "We knew the lawsuit had no merit."
Dearborn has one of the largest populations of Arab-Americans in the country. A message seeking comment from the woman's attorney, Shereff Akeel, wasn't immediately returned.