Mother says airline accused her of trafficking biracial daughter
LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS) - A California mother claims she was unjustly accused of human trafficking after traveling with her 10-year-old biracial daughter on a Southwest Airlines flight. She believes the two were victims of racial profiling.
After a sudden death in the family, Mary MacCarthy and her 10-year-old daughter caught a last minute flight on Southwest Airlines toward the end of October. When their flight landed in Denver, they were met by police because employees had flagged them as human trafficking suspects.
The single mother says flight attendants called police for suspicious behavior after she asked other passengers to switch seats so she could sit with her daughter, who is biracial. She received a copy of the police report 10 days later that said officers were dispatched on a report of possible human trafficking.
MacCarthy says this is a case of racial profiling. She recorded her interactions with Denver Police and a Southwest employee after she and her daughter got off the flight.
“The flight attendants were just concerned about the behavior when you boarded the aircraft. That’s all we’re following up on. We’re not suspecting anything,” said the Southwest employee in the video.
MacCarthy explained that she is a single mom, and she and her daughter were traveling for her brother’s funeral.
“That’s all we need to know. I mean, you guys are good. I do apologize,” the Southwest employee said.
The Denver Police Department said in a statement that officers responded based upon the report from airline staff. The report was closed as “unfounded with no further action necessary.”
Southwest Airlines offered apologies in a statement. The company said it was “disheartened to learn of this mother’s account,” and it is conducting an internal review of the situation.
MacCarthy has retained legal counsel and is asking for accountability from Southwest.
“Why didn’t you ask for proof that we’re mother, daughter? I travel with my daughter’s birth certificate,” she said.
The case of mistaken identity comes at a time when police are working with airlines to address the problem of human trafficking in United States airports.
MacCarthy’s legal counsel says the police officers did their jobs politely, and the department did nothing wrong.
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