This week two employees accused of racial profiling have been fired from their posts at a Portland hotel.
It was last weekend at the city's DoubleTree by Hilton hotel that Jermaine Massey, a guest of the hotel, was kicked out after being confronted by two employees while speaking on the phone. Massey says that he had just returned from a Travis Scott concert and was attempting to return a missed call from his mother while downstairs in the hotel lobby. He stepped off into a secluded area in the lobby for privacy but was soon interrupted by hotel security. The guard, Earl Meyer, asked Massey if he was guest. Despite confirming that he was, Meyer asked Massey to leave the hotel citing a safety threat. Law enforcement was soon called on the scene and Massey was eventually escorted out of the hotel.
According to Massey, the hotel manager called the police before he could even explain that he was a guest.
"The manager who actually called the cops, 'Luis' actually asked me AFTER he called the cops, what happened?," Massy wrote in an Instagram caption. "They already had in their minds that they didn’t want me there so 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. 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."
Shortly after the incident went viral, the DoubleTree Portland announced that they had terminated the two employees involved.
"Their actions were inconsistent with our standards & values," wrote the hotel on Twitter. "We reiterate our sincere apology for what he endured & will work with diversity experts to ensure this never happens again."
