A New Jersey police department is facing allegations of discrimination from a Black officer who became the subject of an Internal Affairs complaint based on her hairstyle.

The suit will test the application in a law enforcement context of the Crown Act, which prohibits racial discrimination based on hairstyle and hair texture. Versions of the Crown Act have been adopted in 24 states.

The plaintiff, Chian Weekes-Rivera, a 10-year veteran of New Jersey's Maplewood Police Department, faced disciplinary action after she reported for work with a hairstyle known as Bantu knots. Her suit claims that a captain in the department, Peter Kuenzel, brought internal affairs cases against Weekes-Rivera and two sergeants after they failed to take action over her hairstyle.