3 years ago
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SAN JOSE (CBS13/CNN) — A California pistillate is accusing Southwest Airlines of radical profiling, saying she was accused of human trafficking while traveling with her biracial daughter.
Mary MacCarthy of Los Angeles told CNN she and her 10-year-old daughter, Moira, were flying to Denver connected October 22 aft receiving quality that MacCarthy’s member had abruptly died.
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MacCarthy said they had a little halt successful San Jose and boarded different Southwest formation but realized past that they couldn’t beryllium seated together.
“I asked formation attendants if we could beryllium seated unneurotic but they told america we’d each person to instrumentality a mediate seat,” MacCarthy said. “So with their permission, I asked different passengers if they would kindly determination truthful we could beryllium together, particularly arsenic my girl was grieving, and they did. People are nice.”
A California pistillate wants Southwest Airlines to beryllium held accountable aft 1 of their employees suspected her of quality trafficking her bi-racial daughter, and that the worker notified police.
When they arrived successful Denver, MacCarthy said, she and her girl were met connected the jetway by two Denver police officers.
“I got rather a shock; having mislaid my member the nighttime before, I thought that idiosyncratic other successful my household had died and that constabulary had been sent to present the news!” MacCarthy wrote successful an email to Southwest Airlines’ media team, which was included successful the constabulary report.
“As for my daughter, she was terribly frightened: she was already experiencing the trauma of her uncle’s death, and she is frightened of constabulary owed to changeless headlines astir however constabulary dainty Black radical (she is Black). She began to sob and was inconsolable,” her email said.
The officers assured her thing was incorrect but said they wanted to question her and her daughter, MacCarthy said.
“They said they were present due to the fact that my girl and I were reported for suspicious behavior, acting suspiciously earlier boarding and portion boarding,” she said.
“I took retired my telephone and instantly started recording. I told (the officer) who we were and that my girl was crying due to the fact that she had mislaid a household member,” MacCarthy said.
According to a study from the Denver police, “Both Mother and kid were cleared.”
The study besides noted that officers were responding to a “possible Human Trafficking reported by South West formation attendant” — but MacCarthy says she lone recovered retired 2 weeks aboriginal that she was suspected of quality trafficking.
“I got a telephone from Denver Police quality trafficking portion letting maine cognize they were pursuing up connected the incident,” she told CNN.
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CNN reached retired to the Denver Police Department connected Sunday day astir MacCarthy’s assertion but has not received a response.
MacCarthy accuses Southwest Airlines of radical profiling. She says she’s retained an lawyer and wants the hose to beryllium held “fully accountable.”
“I gave the hose plentifulness of clip to interaction maine and apologize — implicit 2 weeks later, I’ve yet to person thing much than 2 little automated responses. The clip for an apology is agelong past,” MacCarthy said.
In her email to Southwest’s media team, MacCarthy said she wanted a written apology from the airline, contiguous reimbursement of the afloat terms of their tickets, and “additional compensation to relationship for the trauma imposed connected an guiltless family, and particularly connected a grieving 10-year-old Black girl.”
Southwest Airlines said it is “disheartened” by MacCarthy’s relationship of the events and plans to scope retired to her.
“We are conducting a reappraisal of the concern internally, and we volition beryllium reaching retired to the Customer to code her concerns and connection our apologies for her acquisition traveling with us. Our Employees acquisition robust grooming connected Human Trafficking. Above all, Southwest Airlines prides itself connected providing a welcoming and inclusive situation for the millions of Customers who question with america each year,” Southwest Airlines spokesperson Dan Landson said successful a connection to CNN connected Sunday.
“Had this been a White child, determination would not person been a raised eyebrow,” MacCarthy’s lawyer David Lane told CNN.
In our region, a insignificant who constabulary accidental was a victim of quality trafficking was rescued successful Turlock earlier successful October.
Turlock constabulary accidental that connected October 6, their Special Investigations Unit got a extremity from Santa Clara constabulary that a quality trafficking unfortunate was perchance frequenting the area.
With the assistance of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, authorities started trying to find the unfortunate successful oregon astir Turlock.
On Thursday, investigators were capable to way the insignificant to the 100 artifact of North Tully Road. The unfortunate was past rescued by officers – who besides said they recovered different grounds that showed the insignificant was being trafficked.
A 22-year-old man, Hayward nonmigratory Angelo Gabriel Fuentes, was soon interviewed by authorities and yet arrested.
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(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten, oregon redistributed. CNN contributed to this report.)
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