Jewish Police Officer Given Flexibility On Sabbath

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TOWSON, Md. -- A Towson University police officer will be allowed to rearrange his work schedule to observe the Jewish Sabbath under an agreement reached with school officials.

David Brown converted to Orthodox Judaism about five years ago. Since then, he's missed shifts that fall on the Jewish Sabbath, which runs from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.

The dispute prompted protests and petitions by students and accusations that the university discriminated against Brown when it suspended him.

The agreement was reached Monday before a hearing that could have led to Brown's termination. Under the agreement, Brown will be given leeway to find other officers to work shifts that fall on the Sabbath.

"I feel pretty excited about going back to the job," Brown, 34, told The Baltimore Sun. "It's like a weight has been lifted off."

Brown has worked in security at the university since 1992, beginning as a police aide and dispatcher and as an officer after going through the police academy in 1996.

He converted to Judaism after marrying his wife who was raised as an Orthodox Jew.

Department officials said officers cannot have specific days of the week off because that would stretch the 40-member force too thin and force the department to pay overtime to cover the shifts.

Brown missed five shifts over a six-month period after the department changed rules for switching shifts and a schedule change gave him more shifts during the Sabbath.

Brown filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2004. The complaint was rejected after a government investigator determined that it would cost the university too much money to adjust the schedule.

Some students viewed Brown as a victim of religious discrimination, saying an Orthodox police officer made the campus more diverse.

"It's a source of pride for the Jewish community, and they're taking that away from us," said Towson sophomore Shlomo Goldman, who organized a rally along with a Jewish student organization in support of Brown.

Members of the Baltimore Jewish Council also supported Brown.

"If they're seeking to attract diverse students and faculty, which I know they are, this is sending the wrong message to a substantial portion of the community," council President Arthur C. Abramson said last week.

Under the agreement, Brown will withdraw a second EEOC complaint and the university will move him back to the midnight shift and will allow him to find a replacement from a larger pool of officers.

"It's not as if we are admitting what we did in the past was wrong," said Michael Anselmi, a lawyer who represents Towson University. "We are just attempting in everyone's best interests to try to resolve a personnel dispute without litigation."