PORTLAND, Ore. – A Washington man who was registered as a guest at a Portland DoubleTree hotel says he was racially profiled when hotel officials asked him to leave while he was making a phone call in the lobby.
Jermaine Massey said he was attending a Travis Scott concert in Portland on Sunday night, and upon returning to his hotel, noticed that his mother had called. He sat down in the lobby of the hotel to return the phone call before going up to his room, and that's when he was allegedly profiled and asked to leave.
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Massey recorded video of the incident, which was then posted to Instagram. A DoubleTree security guard identified as "Earl" is seen asking Massey to leave the hotel, saying that police were on their way.
"They're coming why? Why are they coming?" Massey asks.
"To escort you off the property," the guard is heard saying.
In the video, Massey assures "Earl" that he is registered to stay at the hotel, and that he was taking a phone call about a family emergency. "Earl" accuses Massey of loitering.
A manager identified as "Luis" is then seen approaching Massey and asking him to leave before telling him to "calm down." Eventually a Portland police officer arrives and confronts Massey.
Watch the video below (click arrow to see all segments):
Massey said that he was profiled and asked to leave because he is black, explaining in a separate Instagram post that there were other people in the lobby who were white and not asked to leave.
Massey recounted that the officer who responded allowed him to retrieve personal items from his room before he was escorted out and forced to find another hotel to stay at after midnight.
"It just goes to show you that racism is still alive and well," Massey said.
Portland police released the following statement to KOIN 6 on Tuesday:
The employees, who had authority to trespass people from the hotel, requested the officer contact a person in the lobby they had reportedly directed to leave the property.The officer spoke with the man, who gathered his items and left the location. Prior to the man departing from the location, the Portland Police Bureau Officer offered the man assistance to a new hotel and at that time the man declined the offer.
In a statement to OregonLive on Monday, DoubleTree general manager Paul Peralta said that the incident was just a misunderstanding:
Safety and security of our guests and associates is our top priority at the Doubletree by Hilton Portland. This unfortunate incident is likely the result of a misunderstanding between our hotel and guest. We are sorry that this matter ended the way it did. We are place of public accommodation and do not discriminate against any individuals or groups.