Crime & Safety

ACLU Sues Boston Police Over Request for Info on 'Street-Level Encounters'

The ACLU filed a public-records suit against the department in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLU) is suing the Boston Police Department after their request for public records on “street-level encounters” has gone unanswered for over 300 days, the group says.

The ACLU filed a public-records suit against the department in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday. According to the Boston Herald, the ACLU is attempting to conduct a study of “how race effects police interactions.”

“The people of Boston deserve to know, and the law says that they are entitled to know, what is happening between civilians and Boston Police Department officers,” ACLU Legal Director Matthew Segal told the Herald.

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The ACLU said it requested the records nearly a year ago. They did so in wake of the nationwide uptick in conversation regarding racially discriminatory police practices.

The police department has not explained any legal-related reasoning for withholding the records, according to the ACLU.

Find out what's happening in Jamaica Plainfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Photo Credit: WHDH, 7-News

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