Black Man Thrown Out Of DoubleTree Hires Lawyer, Has Questions

PORTLAND, OR — There's been driving while black, mowing a lawn while black, swimming while black, moving into your apartment while black. Now, says a lawyer for Jermaine Massey, you can add talking to your mother on the phone while black.

Massey, who is black and from Kent, Washington, was in Portland – his first visit to the city, he says – the night of Dec. 22. He'd gone to see Travis Scott at the Moda Center and was staying at the DoubleTree Hotel by the Lloyd Center.

After the concert, he returned to the hotel and, while in the lobby, he returned a call to his mom, who had called him earlier. What follows was memorialized in police reports, Massey's Instagram posts – which included video of the incident – and a letter from his lawyers at Kafoury & McDougal.

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That phone call to his mom led to a white security guard approaching him while a manager called the police.

Massey, who recorded his interaction with the security guard, was told that he had to leave, he was being "trespassed" – forbidden to be in the hotel.

Even though he was a registered guest, he showed his key to the security guard, he had stuff up in his room, police told him that he had to go.

The security guard told him that he posed a "security threat" to the other guests.

A police officer explained that Massey would be arrested for trespassing if he didn't leave.

The officer then escorted him to his room so he could get his stuff.

Massey told his lawyer that the officer had offered him to drive him to another hotel but that he declined the offer, pointing out that he had his own car and didn't feel like leaving in the back of a police car.

The "security threat" issues was raised again by the hotel chain when they finally issued a response to the incident days after it had happened.

Their statement, which said the thing was likely the result of a "misunderstanding" between Massey and hotel staff, added that "safety and security of our guests and associates is our top priority."

Massey, who was a registered guest, apparently somehow didn't fit into their definition of guest.

Massey has retained the law firm of Kafoury & McDougal to represent him.

Jason Kafoury says that while DoubleTree says that they would like to meet with Massey, they have two questions that they want answered:

"1. As the video shows, the incident took place in a quiet corner of the hotel lobby which was open to the public. At the time, Mr. Massey was returning a personal phone call from his mother who lives on the East Coast. Why was Mr. Massey approached by security? Why was he interrogated?

2. The security guard told Mr. Massey that he was a “threat to security,” a statement echoed by the hotel chain’s press release, which states, “Safety and security of our guests and associates is our top priority.” Please explain in detail in what manner Mr. Massey was a threat to safety or security."

"Once these questions are fully and completely answered," Massey might be willing to speak publicly about what happened, Kafoury says.

"The hotel has requested a private discussion, but Mr. Massey was publicly humiliated. Therefore, he demands a public statement response."

The hotel has not yet responded to the questions.

Photo via Jason Kafoury.