Our hairstyle is a very personal method of self-expression, so when others respond negatively to it, our self-esteem suffers. That’s why a female Philadelphia police officer became distressed enough to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission after her boss accused her of sporting purple hair and ordered her to change the color, according to a story reported by UPI.

The police officer’s supervisor cited the department’s hair color policy that bans purple, blue and green tresses. But the officer said her hair wasn’t purple it was “crimson,” according to the description on her box of hair dye.

In addition, the officer said she’d worn red-colored hair for seven years without any problems and red was not on the department’s list of banned hair colors.

But what compounded her mental suffering, the officer said, was that besides sending her home, her supervisor ordered photos taken to document the color.

According to the article, the officer’s complaint accused her supervisor of discriminating against her by assigning her undesirable tasks and cutting her overtime.

Another officer in the Philadelphia Police Department previously complained after his supervisor put him on desk duty when he refused to remove his cornrows.

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