In Massachusetts, elected officials are demanding an investigation after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped a Black man while on a run Tuesday in Boston.
Twenty-nine-year-old Bena Apreala told WBUR that he was running a few miles from home when two unknown SUVs with tinted windows approached him. One of the cars blocked the sidewalk in front of him while the other pulled on the side.
He said, “These guys just hopped out in full camouflage uniforms with masks over their face, and stopped me, and told me to immediately identify myself.” He added, “I was confused as to whether or not they were even legitimate authority.”
According to WBUR, Apreala had mentioned that at least three of the men who had approached him were white and that they didn’t identify themselves as law enforcement, but he did notice the ICE badge. He told them that he was a U.S. citizen born in Boston. However, one of the officers had said that he matched the description of someone they had been investigating.
“They said that immigration isn’t the only thing that they investigate and proceeded to question me,” he said.
A spokesperson confirmed to NBC News, however, that the officers involved did, in fact, identify themselves as “police/ICE.” According to the spokesperson, the officers were “looking for a previously deported Haitian national with multiple criminal convictions and pending cocaine and fentanyl trafficking charges that may have been residing in the area.”
Apreala didn’t have identification on him at the time, but he gave them his full name and address. He then started recording the interaction that would later be shared on Facebook by his wife.
In the clip, Apreala confirms with the men if he’s free to go, but as he begins to walk away, one of the men asked to see his arm. The man says, “Do you have any tattoos on your left or right arm? So we can confirm, and we’ll be out of here.”
Apreala says, “Am I free to go?” Adding, “Do I have to show you? If I’m free to go, then I’m not showing you anything. Thank you. Have a great day, guys.” In the video, you can see that he starts to walk away and asks onlookers to “record this just in case.”
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said that the video was “extremely disturbing to watch.” He also said that he had spoken to Apreala and thanked him for sharing his experience on Wednesday.
“It violates someone’s rights just because of the color of their skin, and it is unacceptable,” the mayor tweeted.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley took to Twitter to demand an “immediate investigation” into the incident. Pressley, Sens. Ed Markey, and Elizabeth Warren, and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch all sent a letter to ICE leadership questioning the legitimacy of their actions and asking for more information.
The ACLU of Massachusetts will represent Apreala, and they will be investigating the incident. Director Rahsaan Hall of ACLU said in a statement, “This incident raises serious constitutional questions and is disturbing on a human level.”
This incident is one of many this year deemed “jogging while Black” that has been recorded and shared on social media.
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