Boston Marathon organizers “need to do better," according to the head of the Boston Athletic Association, who responded Thursday to complaints from Black spectators of the Monday race who say their section was barricaded by law enforcement.

Two diverse running clubs — Pioneers Run Crew and TrailblazHers Run Co. — were located at a cheer zone on Heartbreak Hill in Newton. Police officers formed a line in front of the group's spectators, using bicycles as a makeshift fence. The Newton Police Department said that they sent officers after reports from the BAA that onlookers were "impeding" the race by pressing on the rope barrier.

Accounts from those in attendance show that officers did not barricade anywhere else that day, only the section with an audience made up predominantly of people of color. Since the race, Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights reports that it has received legal assistance requests from both spectators and runners over the incident.

"Officers surrounded Black people near mile marker 21 by lining up not only along the course path, but also behind them, giving the strong impression that the observers were not free to leave,” the organization wrote. “This, in effect, exacted an illegal seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Officers also threatened Black people with arrest and criminalization.

Lawyers for Civil Rights said that the “military-style formation” targeting Black spectators “is a concrete example and visual representation of the intimidation and over-policing of Black people."

“Reports from non-Black observers and runners confirm and corroborate the racial profiling complaints, including efforts to block Black people from cheering the marathon participants through law enforcement tactics,” they continued. “Police did this to Black observers, but not to other spectators.”

BAA President and CEO Jack Fleming responded to the outcry in a statement Thursday, saying he had met with Pioneers Run Crew and TrailblazHers about the incident, and that they were working to address it with city officials and the NPD.