Varinder Khun Khun
Photo Modesto Police Department Facebook
VARINDER Khun Khun this week became the first Sikh officer in California’s Modesto Police Department.
Khun Khun, who was born in India, graduated from the Napa Police Academy on June 11.
He told the Sacramento Bee newspaper that he had wanted to be a police officer for a long time, but wasn’t sure if he’d be allowed to keep his turban and beard as a Sikh.
The Modesto Police Department stipulates that its officers be clean shaven and permits only a mustache that extends to the edge of the lip.
The Bee reported that Khun Khun approached Police Chief Galen Carroll a year ago about the job.
Carroll told him that the police would make accommodations for his religious beliefs and that what really mattered was high character standards. Also, he would be representing a part of the community that was not represented in the police department.
Carroll told the Bee: “When you call an officer and nobody looks like you … you don’t feel like they can understand you or relate to you, so it is important to have that so you build stronger ties with the community.”
California Governor Jerry Brown had signed a law in 2012 that added to California’s Fair Employment Act protection against discrimination for religious dress and grooming practices.
Khun Khun said he wouldn’t have joined the police department if he had been required to shave and not wear his turban.
California’s Central Valley has the largest Sikh community in the U.S., according to the Bee.
Carroll hopes that Khun Khun’s example may attract more Sikhs to the police force.
According to Wikipedia, the City of Modesto (Spanish for “modest”) has a population of approximately 201,165 (2010 census) and is the 18th largest city in the state of California. It is located in the Central Valley, 90 miles (140 km) north of Fresno, 92 miles (148 km) east of San Francisco, and 68 miles (109 km) south of the state capital of Sacramento.