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Equity

ICE Agents Threaten Black Jogger on VFW Parkway

9:17 AM EDT on October 7, 2020

A screenshot from the victim’s Facebook video.

Three men operating out of an unmarked SUV stopped a Black man and demanded identification documents while he was out on a jog on VFW Parkway near his home in West Roxbury on Tuesday.

The incident was partly captured on a video that was filmed by the victim, posted to Facebook later on Tuesday, and subsequently reported on Universal Hub.

In an interview with WBUR, the victim, Bena Apreala, reported feeling uncertain whether the men were even legitimate law enforcement officers at all. Eventually, they did show him badges, at least one of which bore the word ICE – the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Related:


Read the ACLU's guide on what to do if you're stopped by police or witnessing police brutality.

Apreala reported that once he began to film the interaction, the men became more cordial and allowed him to leave.

Several Boston City Councilors condemned the incident on Twitter yesterday:

After initially refusing to comment in response to questioning from WBUR on Wednesday morning, the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations office released a statement on Wednesday evening confirming that the perpetrators were their officers.

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