A complaint sent to the Attorney General’s office by a Dorchester man on Monday alleges that Steward Health Care is violating the civil rights of Black and Latino Bostonians by closing Carney Hospital and thus denying “access to healthcare and emergency services that are afforded to others across the City of Boston.”

The complaint also takes aim at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for facilitating the closure by allowing Steward to shutter the hospital on an expedited timeline— and for stepping in to prevent the closures of other hospitals, but not Carney.

Carney Hospital is scheduled to close on Aug. 31.

“This complaint contends that Steward Carney has purposefully allowed the closure of this hospital to prevent access for Black and Latino residents in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale and Hyde Park,” reads the complaint, which was authored by Dorchester resident Haris Hardaway, who is also a candidate for state representative in the 6th Suffolk District.

In his letter, Hardaway alleges that “Steward Healthcare has targeted Dorchester due to its high population of Black and Latino Americans and is refusing to serve the population due to our race despite the ability to provide care equally throughout its system of care.”

He says the closure will cause disproportionate harm to Black and Brown Bostonians by "directly limiting life-saving medical care" and by "impacting the distance that must be traveled to obtain critical care and emergency services."

The Attorney General's office received the complaint but did not offer further comment on its status.

Robert Jenkins, a Mattapan resident, supports Hardaway's claim— calling Carney’s closure “a life and death situation.”

“If you live in that vicinity the next closest hospital is too far away. Hospitals in surrounding cities don’t provide the same care as Carney Hospital,” said Jenkins.

Hardaway says the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has failed to protect residents of color by allowing for the swift closure of Carney, despite state rules that require at least 120-days notice before a facility can close. The complaint also alleges that the Healey administration — by choosing to use eminent domain powers to seize St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, but not Carney— is violating the rights of Black people.

“This violation of state law has been used as a tactic to prevent my equal protection under the law as a Black American,” reads Hardaway’s complaint.

“Additionally, [the] failure to acquire the hospital through eminent domain to prevent the loss of access to this healthcare facility, further violates the civil rights for more than 150,000 Black and Latino residents.”

He concludes: "I request that The Commonwealth of Massachusetts should protect my civil rights and that of the Black & Latino residents in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale and Hyde Park by preventing the closure of Steward Carney Hospital, adhere to the 120-Notification Law and acquire the facility by eminent domain without prejudice or delay."

The state's Department of Public Health on Monday issued its own finding that underscores Hardaway's argument: That Carney is providing "essential" services to the surrounding communities. The DPH Commissioner, however, has refused to intervene in Carney's closing, claiming he has no power to prevent a closure.

Hardaway, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent state Rep. Russell Holmes in the upcoming state primary election.

“Access to healthcare is a civil right and here in Massachusetts we must protect the rights of all to preserve the equity in Commonwealth,” Hardaway, of Talbot Avenue, told The Reporter. “Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale, Hyde Park the thousands more in surrounding towns around Boston will be affected by this closure. The State must do more to prevent this from happening.”