Black Best Western Employee Appears To Have Been Wrongfully Arrested After Incident With White Guest
A Black employee at a Best Western Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, appears to have been wrongfully arrested by police.
According to WFOR, on Jan. 19, Raymond Rachal, 27 at the time, was working the front desk at the Best Western Hotel when a white man, identified as Jason Rabe, hurled racial slurs at him.
Rachal canceled his reservation, which caused Rabe to charge at him and come behind the desk. Rachal says he defended himself but when police arrived, he was arrested.
See the recently released surveillance footage below:
Rachal was initially arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest with violence. As for Rabe, who was allegedly drunk, police drove him to a friend’s house. Rachal was released on a $1,000 bond, two days before his 28th birthday.
The charges against Rachal were eventually dropped.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department said in a statement they are “aware of a video circulating social media relating to an arrest made in January. The incident occurred on January 19, 2022 at 1180 Seabreeze Boulevard. Fort Lauderdale’s Office of Internal Affairs is conducting a review of this incident.”
It’s unclear if Raymond Rachal will take legal action.
