Mom Sues Southwest Airlines, Claiming She and Daughter Were Victims of Racial Profiling

A white mother has sued Southwest Airlines, claiming she and her biracial daughter were victims of racial profiling when the mom was suspected of trafficking the girl and police were called.

"We land at Denver International Airport. We cross from the plane onto the jet bridge, and we are immediately surrounded by two armed police," mom Mary MacCarthy told Denver7 TV following the flight two years ago.

Police, who said they had been contacted by a Southwest flight attendant who suspected trafficking, eventually let MacCarthy and her daughter continue on their way — but not before causing "extreme emotional distress," according to the lawsuit, which calls their treatment "blatant racism."

The incident was particularly emotional for MacCarthy and her then-10-year-old daughter, Moira, because they were flying to Denver for a funeral after the sudden death of MacCarthy's brother. Moira began to cry when, approached by police, the lawsuit recounted

"To this day, when Moira and I are out in public — and especially at airports or on planes —I'm hyperaware that we might be judged and reported for any interaction we have with each other," McCarthy, who lives in Los Angeles, told Newsweek.

Southwest said at the time that the company would conduct an internal investigation of the incident. It's unclear what if any changes were made. MacCarthy said she has yet to receive an apology.

Southwest could not immediately be reached for comment by The Messenger. But the company has refused to comment on the suit to other media.

MacCarthy's attorney, David Lane, said the aim of the lawsuit is to trigger a change in Southwest behavior.

"In using racial profiling to cause the Denver police to stop innocent travelers, Southwest Airlines has attempted to address serious the criminal activity of sex-trafficking through use of a stereotypical, easy formula," Lane told Newsweek.

Just as police are "constitutionally not permitted to stop-and-frisk young men of color based upon their race, corporate America is similarly not permitted to resort to such profiling to use law enforcement to stop and question racially diverse families simply based upon their divergent races, which is what Southwest did," he added.