BOSTON (AP) — The highest court in Massachusetts has thrown out a gun charge against a Boston man in a ruling that says black men who flee from police may be reacting to racial profiling rather than trying to hide criminal activity.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday in favor of Jimmy Warren, who was stopped by police after a home break-in in 2011. The court found that police had “far too little information” to stop Warren.
Warren was arrested after a foot chase and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.
The court cited a study concluding that black men were disproportionately stopped and frisked by Boston police between 2007 and 2010. The court said black men approached by police may be motivated by a desire to “avoid the recurring indignity of being racially profiled.”
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