Image of Fairfield Inn & Suites in Avon, Ohio
Posted on 07/06/2016 5:32:11 PM PDT by Kaslin
Image of Fairfield Inn & Suites in Avon, Ohio
Three weeks before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, a Muslim man in traditional attire asked multiple questions about booking a hotel for a month and refused to leave the hotel despite learning that it was booked for the time he wanted. A hotel clerk, disturbed by his actions, asked her family to call 911. The police responded immediately, because the clerk's sister said the man had mentioned the Islamic State (ISIS).
The clerk was fired in less than a week, and now the police may charge her, thus setting a dangerous precedent that if you point out a potential threat, you yourself will land in jail. This is not to say that the man himself was a threat, but the circumstances were suspicious and the hotel clerk has arguably been mistreated in this case, with a chilling effect on the idea that "if you see something, say something."
The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office in Avon, Ohio, will determine whether charges will be filed against the former hotel clerk who told her family members to call 911 to report that a Muslim man was acting suspiciously in the lobby, local news reported. The call was made last Wednesday. As of Tuesday morning, the clerk was no longer employed by Fairfield Inn & Suites at Colorado Avenue.
Here is a video of the clerk explaining her call to the police.
Here is a brief portion of the call:
Clerk: He wanted somewhere in Avon or Elyria. He wanted a month's stay. He was leaving July 13 to the 14 around there and I tried to help him as much as possible. Everywhere said they are booked and couldn't help him, I told him. And then he wanted to sit in our lobby. He didn't want to leave.
Officer: So you said you guys were booked?
Clerk: I said we're booked. Everywhere he called is booked too. It's summer. People are traveling. He had two phones. He was searching the Internet on one phone, making calls on a disposible phone. That's really all I know. It just freaks me out because of everything going on.
Officer: He didn't say anything else?
Clerk: No, it's just...
Officer: Because the call we got is that someone said he was pledging his allegiance to ISIS.
Clerk: No, no, no, no, he...
Officer: Who would have said that? Who made the call?
Clerk: I told my sister--it's my sister--her name is [redacted], she called. I said he's dressed in a weird outfit, he has a disposable phone. I said I don't know what to do because of everything going on...going on with ISIS. I said call the police, because we couldn't because he kept coming up here.
While the police ordered their fellow officers to stand down, the Muslim man had already been placed in handcuffs. Identified as Ahmed Al Menhali of the United Arab Emirates, the man collapsed while in custody and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Police apologized to Al Menhali after the incident. "No one from the police department (wanted) to disrespect you," Police Chief Richard Bosley said. "It is a very regrettable circumstance that occurred for you. You should not have been put in that situation like you were."
"There were some false accusations made against you," said the mayor, Bryan Jensen. He then explained that a county prosecutor could take further action, such as asking a grand jury to consider criminal charges against the former clerk.
"This is the process we follow in such situations," Jansen added. "The police investigate. The prosecutor considers everything the police have collected and decides whether to pursue charges with a grand jury."
"If you see something, say something is great," Bosley said. "But it has to be based on facts, not assumptions. What someone reports to the police has a dramatic impact on how police respond. You can put onlookers and our own officers in unnceseccary danger if you report untrue information."
The clerk was frazzled, and she may have unfairly profiled the man. She should probably have waited for more evidence. But if a hotel clerk can end up in jail for reporting what she thinks is suspicious behavior, how can we stop future attacks?
Next Page: How political correctness can stop us from identifying terrorists.
Multiple people had contacted the FBI to warn them about Omar Mateen before the tragic attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last month. An old friend of his, who attended the same mosque and learned that Mateen was listening to sermons of the terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki, called the FBI to warn them. Mateen was a known quantity to the FBI, but they never prosecuted him.
Worse, neighbors of the San Bernardino shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook, told ABC that they noticed "suspicious activity" at his home before the shooting, but did not report it -- for fear of being labeled racist.
One neighbor recalled police being called to the Farook household, "maybe for a domestic violence dispute." Another, Aaron Elswick, a neighbor of Farook's mother, said another neighbor told him "they had I guess been receiving packages -- quite a few packages within a short amount of time, and they were actually doing a lot of work out in the garage."
"She was kind of suspicious and wanted to report it," Elswick recalled, "but she said she didn't want to profile."
If this hotel clerk not only gets fired but ends up in jail for reporting suspicious behavior, how many more people will be dissuaded from saying something when they see something?
The Republican National Convention will take place between July 18 and July 21 in nearby Cleveland, Ohio. If the man was truly engaged in suspicious behavior this close to the Republican convention, it would make sense to have heightened scrutiny surrounding him. In this case, the 911 call seems misplaced, but if this woman faces trial, it may chill those who observe true threats and discourage them from reporting suspicious activity.
There are brave and patriotic Muslims in this country, and they don't deserve to be profiled. But if we deal harshly with everyone who reports suspicious behavior -- even if it is wrong -- we will be less safe in those few cases where a real terrorist would have been caught.
Did you read Steven Coonts' new book?
“See something, say nothing”.
I believe it’s a book title.
If you see something...take defensive action. Don’t trust the government under any circumstances unless you are criminal history clinton.
Nope. Interesting ?
It is about a President named Barry Sotero who suspends the constitution after a series of convenient jihadi attacks and then Texas declares it’s independence. It is set in August of 2016. If you want to read it, you’d better read it before it happens.
It’s on sale for 99 cents on Kindle today.
https://www.amazon.com/Libertys-Last-Stand-Stephen-Coonts-ebook/dp/B01B6SEL5E?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc
Clerk should pull a Hillary(ous) and just say she had no intent for the guy who subscribes to an entity that advocates killing and raping people to be arrested.
Time to boycott Fairfield Inns and Suites.
I predict Obama will admit he’s a muslim BEFORE he leaves office.
Ohio Ping!!
Article and comments, esp # 25, #30, #32
We can't.
That's the plan.
*^*
People just didn't behave that way by themselves in New York, unless they were with family, especially in the half-year or more after 9-11. Could he have been, say, innocently prospecting for office space? Mayyyyybe. But why didn't he photograph the lobbies, which are at least as important to a business?
I followed this man at a discreet distance for a while. Then he descended the steps into a subway entrance. I did what any New Yorker then would have done. I called the FBI. The agent who answered (a man) was very respectful and took great interest in what I said, my description of the man and his camera, taking down the name of the subway station and the direction it was headed (downtown). He thanked me for calling and encouraged me to stay vigilant and keep the FBI or the NYPD informed if I saw anything out of the ordinary.
Of course, as I say, this was George W. Bush's America.
This is why when you have a problem you make your own darn call. The second that idiot clerk had sissy call, it was like the game of Telephone. Now, some people are good at relaying information verbatim and others...well, not so much. I’ve met people who can’t repeat a story to save their life.
Maybe YOU need to call again. 55 gallon barrels???
I like your attitude!
Funny.
I predict Obama will admit he's queer before he departs.
It appears that Muslims are our new overlords. Similar to the way infidels are treated in some OPEC countries.
excellent idea..I will never stay at one...no way should this clerk be treated in this manner..what a scary World we are living in..
Here in Somerset County, PA. where we will always remember 09/11/2001 and flight #93..in Shanksville, PA. we were informed by the local liberal media that ground has been broken for a new hotel/Inn named FAIRFIELD INN..and in this small Rural area we already have many motels and lodging facilities. many are concerned they will not be able to compete with the ‘fancy’ new place and will will not be able to stay in business...ISN'T THAT JUST WONDERFUL...AGAIN the Chamber of Commerce at work...
SCARY DAMN WORLD...YA THINK?
Um... What would they have charged her with? And what’s with the freaking mayor getting involved??
The clerk didn’t force the police to put the guy in handcuffs. She simply said what she saw. It’s up to the police to sort out reports like that and separate fact from fiction. There’s no indication that the clerk lied or made the call in bad faith. She was genuinely concerned, and I don’t blame her, so she called the police. There’s no crime in that. The police are the ones who decided to cuff the guy.
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