Why the Lexington Police Department is softening its policy against visible tattoos

The Lexington Police Department is changing a policy that automatically disqualified anyone with visible tattoos from becoming a police officer.

Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers announced Tuesday that changes to the policy were finalized last week.

Under the new policy , any applicant to the police department who has a visible tattoo on their arm or leg could submit a photo of the tattoo to the chief for approval. Sleeve tattoos and tattoos on the hands, neck or head are still prohibited, as are tattoos that could be considered “vulgar, indecent, sexist, racist, anti-social, gang-related, extremist group-related, or may bring discredit upon the department,” the police department said in a news release.

“These policy changes have been considered for quite some time as societal views on tattoos have changed over the years,” Weathers said. “I think police employees will be pleased with this updated policy, and I hope the community will be able to see officers as regular people and not just someone in a uniform. With this change, we also anticipate an increase in our police applicant pool.”

Both sworn officers and civilian personnel are covered under the new policy.

The Fraternal Order of Police has pushed for years for the department to change the policy, saying it has unfairly prohibited many minorities and former military members from applying.

Sgt. Jason Rothermund, president of the FOP Bluegrass Lodge 4, applauded Weathers and the department for finally making changes to the policy, but said a tweak is needed so that no one person can determine if a tattoo is allowable.

“Over the past several years, the FOP has solicited the input from community stakeholders, including the NAACP, to increase diversity of our employees,” Rothermund said. “Time and again, the tattoo policy and the automatic disqualification of a minority applicant has been a serious impediment.”

Former local NAACP President Adrian Wallace agreed.

“We have worked closely with the FOP over the past few years to identify ways to increase diversity within the Lexington Police Department,” Wallace said. “Tattoos are now mainstream. They reflect individual expression. It is achievable to have a policy that protects against arbitrary approval, but still safeguards against offensive images and messages.”

Rothermund said a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision said tattoos and body modifications can be negotiated as part of collective bargaining agreements.

The FOP has made suggested changes to the new policy. Rothermund said he hopes the FOP and city can come to an agreement so that decisions about tattoos are not based on the discretion of one person.

The new policy says that tattoos must be approved by the chief or his designee.

Other police departments have also had to relax prohibitions on visible tattoos over the years as tattoos have become more main stream and recruitment of police officers has become more difficult.

The Nicholasville Police Department changed its prohibition against visible tattoos more than 18 months ago, said Maj. Chris Cain.

Cain said highly-qualified candidates who had retired from the military were being automatically disqualified because of the prohibition against visible body art. The department had to tweak its policies to make sure it got good candidates, he said.

“The public’s perception of tattoos has changed,” Cain said. “I’ve got one. It’s just not visible.”

Cain said neck, face and hand tattoos are still prohibited. Any arm tattoos that are profane or obscene are also not allowed, he said.

This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 3:14 PM.