On the eve of Boston Marathon weekend, a Black-led running group has sued race organizers and local police over last year’s alleged “racial profiling” incident on Heartbreak Hill.

TrailblazHers Run Co. and the running group’s founders filed a federal discrimination lawsuit in Massachusetts U.S. District Court against the Boston Athletic Association and Newton Police for the cops’ response to the group’s cheering section at Mile 21 last Marathon Monday.

The racially diverse running crew is suing after Newton Police officers with bicycles lined up at their tent along Heartbreak Hill. This restricted the group’s cheering access to the road and their ability to give out high fives to runners. Cops also took positions behind the group’s tent.

The police officers did this after the B.A.A. had alerted police three times about spectators crossing the rope barrier and impeding runners.

Since this incident, the running group has claimed racial profiling and harassment — saying thousands of spectators jump onto the course, but this type of police presence only happened to a group of predominantly Black and Brown spectators.

“On Marathon Day in 2023, acting in concert with the BAA, the Newton Police Department singled out spectators from TrailblazHers Run Co. and other running crews that serve primarily people of color, racially profiling, targeting, and harassing them,” the federal lawsuit reads.

“This culminated in NPD officers forming a human barricade to physically separate the running crews of color from the event,” the suit adds. “Similarly-situated white spectators received no such treatment. While white spectators viewed and enjoyed the event in peace, the people of color were racially profiled and discriminated against.”

The group members are trying to prevent a repeat of the incident. The group in the lawsuit is claiming that the B.A.A. and Newton Police violated their 14th Amendment rights to equal protection.

The lawsuit, filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights on behalf of TrailblazHers, also seeks damages for emotional distress and trauma caused by last year’s incident.

“Today, we send a clear message to the B.A.A. and to all police departments along the marathon route: the law does not tolerate racial profiling,” said Mirian Albert, senior staff attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights.

“We are prepared to seek immediate court intervention if B.A.A. or local police engage in the type of discriminatory conduct that spectators of color endured last year in Newton,” Albert added.

Ahead of the marathon this year, the B.A.A. has posted messaging on social media about the importance of having a clear course on Marathon Monday.

The B.A.A. is also adding more barricades to the course, and the B.A.A. app for tracking friends and family has a new “Spectator Guidelines” feature this year. People who download the app have to go over the code of conduct rules before following marathon participants.

“We are confident that the B.A.A. and our partners are prepared for a Boston Marathon that is welcoming to the 30,000 participants, spectators and eight cities and towns along the route,” a B.A.A. spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

“We are focused on creating a joyous experience for all,” the spokesperson added. “While the B.A.A. is aware of the complaint, we have not yet had the opportunity to review it.”

Source link