Hampton Inn employee fired for calling cops on black guest and her two children for using the swimming pool
WILLIAMSTON, NORTH CAROLINA: A Hampton Inn employee in North Carolina was fired from her job after she called the police on a black woman and her two children who were staying at the hotel and were spending time at the pool.
The incident was captured on video. The mother, Anita Williams Wright, shared the video on social media after which it went viral. The video is almost 10 minutes long and features Anita and her two children at the hotel's pool in North Carolina. In the video, Anita revealed that she was talking on the phone with her mother while her children were swimming when the employee approached her and asked her whether she had a room at the hotel.
She then called the cops on the family. Anita shared that she tried to explain to the two officers from the Williamston Police Department that the hotel employee was being racist and noted how the cops were 'harassing' her and never once asked her what had happened. When she was asked to prove that she was a guest at the hotel, Anita was seen flashing her room key. In fact, she even suggested on showing them that the key works. The officers, however, asked for the mother's name, which she declined to give.
Anita can be heard repeatedly saying, "I have a room here. I don't need to give my name. I didn't break the law. I know the law." The officers then proceeded to run Anita's license plates on the car. Anita continued, "I'm here on business with my kids in the pool. It was two white people sitting over there and she said nothing to them." The employee in the back is heard attempting to defend herself and says she had checked the other two guests in.
Anita then revealed what the employee had told her. "She said to me, 'Oh, because it's always people like you using the pool unauthorized'." To this Anita asked, "Who is people like me?" She also addressed that the police officers had not once asked her side of the story. She told one of the officers that she plans to call internal affairs on them, which prompted the policeman to start taunting her. He tells her to call the police chief.
The officer can be heard telling her, "If I receive a call I am going to handle it how I see fit." When the mother calls him a 'racist', he quickly dismisses it. Anita says, "Your actions do not prove that. You can say whatever you want out your mouth but your actions don't prove what you just said out your mouth."
The hotel announced later that they had fired the employee involved. The Global Head of Hampton by Hilton shared in a statement, "Hampton by Hilton has zero-tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind. On Saturday, we were alerted to an online video of a guest incident at one of our franchise properties. We have apologized directly to the guest and her family for their experience, and will work with them and the hotel to make this right. We remain in contact with the hotel's ownership about follow up actions, and to ensure that in the future, their employees reflect the best value of our brand and are welcoming to all."