Two Muslim women were arrested for wearing veils in public by a police officer who misinterpreted a law meant to target the Ku Klux Klan.
The women also said they were fondled during a search for weapons, but authorities disputed the claim.Portsmouth police were investigating the arrests, spokeswoman Amber Whittaker said Tuesday. The women were detained Sunday by an officer who thought they were violating a state law against wearing masks in public, she said.
The law is aimed at halting marches by the KKK, whose members often wear hoods. But people who wear masks for religious reasons are exempted.
"There was a mistake in judgment, and all of us are sorry this happened," said Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock.
The women said they were walking toward a grocery store in their traditional hijab, Muslim clothing that includes veils covering their faces, when an officer approached them and told them they could not wear masks.
One woman said she told the officer that the veil was part of her Islamic dress, and he responded: "I don't care what you say. It's a mask and you can't wear it in the commonwealth of Virginia."
The women, who have filed formal complaints against the police, refused to remove their veils and said they were handcuffed, and touched on the chest and buttocks by officers searching them.