Man sues Secret Service over treatment at Boston DNC (Guilty of "Marching While Brown.")

[Ian David]

Man sues over his treatment at DNC

BOSTON -- A Cambridge man has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Secret Service and Boston police claiming that he was detained and interrogated during the Democratic National Convention in 2004 because of his race.

Vijay Shah, a U.S. citizen of Indian descent, claims in his suit he has suffered "shock, anxiety, fear and emotional distress" as a result of his detention.

According to his suit, Shah was marching from Boston Common to the convention site with the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition on July 25, 2004, when Secret Service agents and police "forcibly removed him from the march, handcuffed him, detained him and interrogated him."

Shah, who was not charged, claims in his suit that authorities accused him of acting suspiciously.

The suit says "Shah's innocent and indeed commonplace reaction to the radical transformation of downtown Boston in no way distinguished him from countless other law-abiding citizens that Sunday. It is clear that the 'official' justification for detaining Mr. Shah was a sham and that in fact Mr. Shah was singled out and detained because of his ethnic identity."

More:
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO45145/