Philly cop says she was punished for hair color

The Inquirer reports that a female African-American officer in the Philly PD is filing a complaint against her captain, who she says has been penalizing her for not changing the color of what he considers her purple hair, purple being one of a few colors the department considers “unnatural.” The officer had had the same color hair for the last seven years of her 14 years on the force with no problems.

When Officer Renee Norman refused, she twice was sent home, forcing her to miss her shift. She maintained the color was red.

Capt. Dennis Wilson also ordered her hair color documented with photographs, and Norman twice was taken to Police Headquarters and “mug-shotted,” said her attorney, Brian Mildenberg.

“I just never felt so embarrassed in my life,” Norman said.

Norman was accused of violating Directive 78-D, which governs officers’ hairstyles. It bans “unnatural colors” such as purple, blue, and green.

It seems a little strange. Green or blue hair sends the message “I’m a rebel! I don’t need your rules, The Man!” regardless of who’s got it, and I could see why The Man wouldn’t want to be sending out mixed messages. But purple-red seems more flexible, declaring different things depending on the context. It might be a sign of rebellion on a 15-year-old boy wearing a Green Day shirt (or whatever band causes these kids today to dye their hair), but raspberry doesn’t seem to be either uncommon or, more importantly, sending any sort of anti-authority message when worn by black women. Wilson is white, btw.

Norman said she did her own hair using a commercial dye labeled “crimson.” She did not remember the brand. Her color and others are not uncommon among black female officers, she said.

We did a search on amazon, and the only hair dye they have that’s called “crimson” is by an organic company called Herbatint. It’s this color, as is the image at the top of the post:

All we’re saying is that if you can’t tell the difference between that color on a white teenager and that color on a black mother of four, maybe micromanaging officers’ hairstyles should be delegated to someone who can.

What do you think? Should race be a factor in what hair colors are considered “normal” for official purposes? Or should everyone be held to the same standard?