Mary MacCarthy: Denver cops falsely accused white mom of trafficking her Black daughter
A 42-year-old mother from Los Angeles and her 10-year-old daughter were the latest victims of racial bias at Denver International Airport on October 22, 2021. The white mother was stopped by cops at Denver on suspicion of human trafficking, as her daughter is biracial. Mary MacCarthy, who was urgently traveling to Denver from LA after her brother's sudden death, was confronted by a Southwest Airlines staffer as soon as the mother-daughter duo got off their flight.
The single mom was visibly shaken when two airport police officers accused her of human trafficking. MacCarthy later shared a video with DailyMail where her daughter can be seen crying in anguish and fear in presence of two armed cops while she consoles her saying, "It's okay, sweetheart." She also said in the video, "I have a daughter, who has unfortunately already been traumatized by police in her life."
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MacCarthy was originally reported to the cops by a Southwest Airlines employee who considered her behavior 'suspicious', as the grieving mother and her daughter did not share a conversation during the entire flight. Also, MacCarthy had asked other passengers to move seats so that she could sit next to Moira.
Based on the staffer's complaint, the cops assumed she was trafficking the child. Speaking to DailyMail later, Mary MacCarthy said, "The airline and police need to be held accountable. They accosted us. The day of the incident, it was clear to me that my family was racially profiled."
Explaining the reason behind their limited interaction during the two-plus-hour flight, she stated that while her daughter was listening to an audiobook, she herself was trying to get some sleep after the shocking and traumatic death of her brother.
The pair was eventually let go by the police following an intense session of interrogation. The episode badly affected Moira, who was already shocked by her uncle's death.
In the exclusive video, the LA-based tech expert can be seen in a state of emotional breakdown, as she explained to cops, "We booked a flight late last night for the three of us because my brother, who’s 46, went to the hospital and died 20 minutes later. He was like a father to her."
"This is the type of situation that mixed-race families and families of color face all the time while traveling," she exclaimed later.