NBC Boston: Massachusetts Police Data Points to Racial Disparities in Arrests

Originally published April 1, 2021 | NBC Boston

When former Newton resident Tim Duncan and his wife were walking to the grocery store in May, they expected a leisurely stroll. Instead, Duncan, a Black man, found himself staring at a gun.

“We wanted to spend some quality time together,” Duncan said. “All hell broke loose after we turned the corner.”

Newton police officers stopped Duncan and his wife while looking for a murder suspect thought to be in the area.

The officers soon realized Duncan was not the man they were looking for, he said. However, Duncan, a former deputy athletic director for external affairs at Northeastern University who spoke out publicly about the experience last summer, said he believes the incident is an example of racial profiling.

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