Sikh Police Cadet Ordered To Shave Off Beard

(CBS13) YUBA CITY, Calif. If you want to be a police cadet you must shave your beard. That’s what one Sikh man was told in Yuba City. “They said the beard would not be allowed, no ifs and or buts,” said Uppal. A lesson in religious tolerance is playing out in Yuba city after 19-year-old Harvir Singh Uppal was initially told he would have to shave his beard if he wanted to be a police department cadet. “I was not given any reason and that was my last contact with the YCPD,” said Uppal. The Yuba City area is home to a growing Sikh community — and the controversy quickly spread because wearing a turban and beard is required religious clothing. After a civil rights organization in Washington D.C. heard about the case, they sent this letter to the police chief demanding he change his position. “If anything it’s all just a misunderstanding,” said Richard Doscher, YCPD police chief. Doscher says it was an officer, the director of the cadet program, who made the comment and it’s not department policy. The chief has since apologized to the organization and Uppal. At this point Uppal says he’s now too busy being a full-time student to re-apply with the department. But he has not ruled out a career in law enforcement. The civil rights organization is now applauding the chief’s commitment to the Sikh community and hopes other law enforcement agencies follow suite. (© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.) [http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_068013917.html] CBS13 Sacramento