If the Columbus (Ohio) Police Division doesn't change its policy banning head scarves for female Muslim officers, Ismahan Isse might have a couple of options outside Ohio, reports the Columbus Dispatch.
The Edmonton (Alberta) Police Service in Canada has reached out to Isse, a 29-year-old Somali-American from Columbus who said she dropped out of the Columbus police academy this year because she was prohibited from wearing her head scarf, or hijab.
The Dispatch wrote about Isse last week, and Staff Sgt. Mark Farnell, an Edmonton police recruiter, read about her dilemma online. He said Edmonton police designed a uniform for Muslim women that includes the head scarf.
Edmonton has a growing Somali community and wants its police force to better reflect the city's diversity, Farnell said. It currently has no Somali police officers.
Isse said she spoke to Farnell on Friday. "I'm actually considering it strongly," she said of his offer.
She said she also was contacted by a representative of the Somali-American Police Association in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has the largest Somali population in the country. Columbus is No. 2.
