Business & Tech

DoubleTree Portland Calls Police On Black Guest, Apologizes Later

Jermaine Massey was a guest at the DoubleTree when a security guard called him a security threat and called police to have him removed.

PORTLAND, OR – Jermaine Massey had never been to Portland before this past weekend when he arrived to see Travis Scott perform at the Moda Center. It's likely that no one would blame if he never came back.

After the concert, he headed back to the hotel. Once in the lobby, his mother called him on his cell.

Massey, who is black, took the call.

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While on the phone, Massey was approached by one of the hotel's security guards. He is white.

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On Instagram, Massey recounts what happened next.

"He said that I was a safety threat to the other guests and that I was trespassing and said that I was a disturbance because I took a personal phone call from my mom in a more remote area of the lobby," Massey wrote.

While Massey talked with the security guard, the hotel manager on duty called the police.

"I waited for the cops to show up and when they did, I explained my side of the story and they didn’t want to hear it," Massey says. "They asked me if I had personal items in my room (which of course I did) and asked me to go retrieve them.

"They told me that since the hotel requested me to leave, that if I didn’t I would be considered a trespasser and would be thrown in jail. I complied and cooperated and was not issued a refund for my room. I packed my stuff and went to another hotel."

Massey wrote that he wasn't "really shocked that this happened but just extremely disappointed. I will be seeking justice. Believe that."

Massey posted video of the encounter on Instagram as well as a video of describing what happened into his camera.

Portland Police have confirmed that they responded and have not disputed Massey's version of what happened.

Three days after the incident after the incident apologized, confirming that they had called the police to have Massey thrown out but attributed it to a misunderstanding between security and Massey. They say that they've reached out to Massey but have not heard back.

Photo via Google Street View.

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