Arizona police refuted a recent human trafficking claim made by Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John McCain, when she was at a Phoenix airport, according to a local radio news station.
Mrs. McCain’s told the Arizona radio station KTAR News on Monday that she called police after she saw a child and woman of different ethnicities together at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and she felt concerned.
“I came in from a trip I’d been on and I spotted — it looked odd — it was a woman of a different ethnicity than the child, this little toddler she had, and something didn’t click with me,” she said. “I went over to the police and told them what I saw, and they went over and questioned her and, by God, she was trafficking that kid.”
Phoenix Police St. Armando Carbajal explained to the radio station that the authorities checked on the child after Mrs. McCain’s request, but they did not find anything to be amiss.
“Officers determined there was no evidence of criminal conduct or child endangerment,” he told KTAR News.
Mrs. McCain has since addressed the situation on Twitter, apologizing if her mistake was a detriment to the “See Something, Say Something” campaign.
At Phoenix Sky Harbor, I reported an incident that I thought was trafficking. I commend the police officers for their diligence. I apologize if anything else I have said on this matter distracts from “if you see something, say something”
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) February 7, 2019
A wave of outrage has come out online after Mrs. McCain’s tweet, with many accusing her of racism.
What racism looks like:
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) February 7, 2019
Cindy McCain saw a woman “of a different ethnicity” than her toddler & assumed she was a human trafficker, so she called cops & “by God the woman was trafficking that kid!”
Cops report it was NOT trafficking🤦🏽♂️#TravelingWhileBrownhttps://t.co/BomNo1slJg pic.twitter.com/J6UL5CwqAI
This is absolutely chilling. Cindy McCain racially profiled a family, telling the police that they were human traffickers because the parent and child weren’t the same race. The police determined there was no wrongdoing. This is her non-apology apology. https://t.co/BzPD7L6vCU
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) February 7, 2019
The police have already refuted this statement by Cindy McCain and given that she has an adoptive daughter from Bangladesh, I’m actually shocked by her behavior and tweet bragging about her racial profiling. https://t.co/VkTpZG5dAj pic.twitter.com/77W2EqWb9V
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) February 7, 2019
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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