People pack up after an Airbnb stay, get police called on them-inc. helicopter-b/c they didn't wave

[gollygee]

https://m.facebook.com/directedbykells/posts/10160498802675121

STORY TIME: During our time in Cali we have been staying at an Airbnb. The 30th was our second morning and at about 11am we checked out. The four of us packed our bags, locked up the house and left. As you can see 3 of us were Black. About 10 seconds later we were surrounded by 7 cop cars. The officers came out of their cars demanding us to put our hands in the air. They informed us that there was also a helicopter tracking us. They locked down the neighborhood and had us standing in the street. Why? A neighbour across the street saw 3 black people packing luggage into their car and assumed we were stealing from the house. She then called the police.
At first we joked about the misunderstanding and took photos and videos along the way.
About 20 minutes into this misunderstanding it escalated almost instantly. Their Sergeant arrived... he explained they didn’t know what Airbnb was. He insisted that we were lying about it and said we had to prove it. We showed them the booking confirmations and phoned the landlord... because they didn’t know what she looked like on the other end to confirm it was her.. they detained us - because they were investigating a felony charge - for 45 minutes while they figured it out.
We have been dealing with different emotions and you want to laugh about this but it’s not funny. The trauma is real. I've been angry, fustrated and sad. I was later detained at the airport. This is insanity.

The cops admit that the woman’s reason for calling the police was because we didn’t WAVE to her as she looked at us putting our luggage into our car from her lawn.

[dalton99a]

1. Always acknowledge your white masters

Damn.

[Cha]

43. omg..

I know that isn't funny but.. it's so ridiculous true it had me burst out laughing. Sorry.

[OnDoutside]

2. Sue, and sue again.

[LuckyLib]

3. Oh, please. House owners have not alerted neighbors that they are now

hosting an AB&B? Good grief, this indicates major stupid on so many levels. Not the least of which the police.

My heart goes out to folks who have to put up with this BS.

[dawg day]

8. So sorry-- how awful, and a painful end to a holiday

I've found that many airbnbs are "illegal" in the sense that the homeowners' association or sometimes the city restricts short-term rentals, so the landlady might not have wanted anyone to know.

I know we citizens should feel confident to call the police if we have to. However, really-- sometimes I want to say to these "arrest those non-whites walking on my street" people-- think of Tamir Rice. Think of him. Think how you would feel if you utterly misjudged because of your own prejudice and someone ended up dead. It's not entirely the fault of the person who called to complain about a 12-year-old playing in the park-- obviously the cop who shot without saying a word is to blame-- but people doing nothing wrong shouldn't have to worry that some racist neighbor is going to get all scared and panic and call the authorities.

These terrified people are dangerous. And of course Trump and Koch and Bannon are just stoking those fears, for their own cynical pleasure. We need to call people cowards. "Why are you so frightened? Are you really such a chicken?"

[mtngirl47]

13. They probably didn't tell their neighbors...my neighbor didn't tell me

because it is against their deed and they thought they would only have occasional rentals and I would think it was their friends or family. Turns out people want to come to the mountains (who knew?!) and they had two to three turnovers per week.

[christx30]

21. I wouldn't tell my neighbor and my

neighbor wouldn't tell me. Because what I or he/she (?) does is none of the other's business. I honestly couldn't pick them out of a line up if I had to. So if they had someone use their place, I wouldn't know, and I wouldn't call the police. As long as I didn't see the place on fire, or heard actual screaming, it's just someone in that house.

[jberryhill]

68. Google the words Airbnb and neighbors

Lots of horror stories about having to live next door to what guests think is a recreational zone.

[christx30]

84. Oh I have no doubt on it.

So you call the cops on people committing actual criminal acts. Loud music at 3 am, damage to property, jumping from the top floor into the pool, tax evasion, violence.
Otherwide, I’d mind my own business. The new neighbors would get a tight smile, a nod, and a mumble of “how’s it going?” Which is my greeting for any other human on the planet, regardless of race, religion, age, or sex. It’s perfect because it’s over in seconds and it doesn’t invite further conversation.

[jberryhill]

85. I did a similar thing once

Last edited Mon May 7, 2018, 03:59 PM - Edit history (1)

When I was a teenager, a friend of mine's family went on vacation for a couple of weeks. Riding my bike past their house one day, there was a van parked outside and people moving things out of the house and into the van.

I wasn't going to ask them what they were up to, since they were four adults and I was one teenager, so I called the police.

As I found out later, they were actually some cousins of the family whom I did not know, and they had arranged to pick up some furniture that my friend's family had given them.

There was no race factor involved.

Airbnb suggests that people tell their neighbors, to avoid just this sort of thing from happening. But people running Airbnb's contrary to the rules of their condo/apartment/subdivision, don't necessarily want their neighbors to know.

[jberryhill]

51. As noted, a lot of AirBNB's are contrary to leases, deeds, insurance and local regulation

Some of them even manage to get listings on what you would expect to be normal "hotel" sites.

I once booked a place on hotels.com, and expected that I was booking a hotel room, and not a studio apartment in a private building. The place was fine, but in order to "check in", I had to wait for the owner to show up, and he more or less implied that we should keep a low profile in our comings and goings, so as not to alert the neighbors to the fact that he was booking it out.

There's a certain "shady" factor with some Airbnb listings.

[titaniumsalute]

60. I thought AirBnBs had to be permitted?

In other words the cops know an AirBnB because there is permitting showing it is being used by multiple individuals like a rental property.

[jberryhill]

67. Permits don't enforce themselves

People run Airbnb's outside of whatever regulations, contracts, deeds, insurance requirements or leases they may have.

By "have to be permitted", I assume you mean "should be permitted". Yeah, they should be. In very many instances they aren't.

This incident is actually typical of neighbors finding out someone is running an Airbnb. Sometimes the neighbors believe there is drug or prostitution activity going on. Other times, they catch on to what's going on due to unruly renter behavior.

It's not as if Airbnb comes out and checks. To sign up, you simply self-certify that you are in compliance with whatever, and that you will hold Airbnb harmless if you aren't.

https://learnairbnb.com/neighbors-killed-airbnb-unit/

While it may not be possible in all areas, having open and transparent communications with your neighbors about your Airbnb listings can establish trust early on and help you avoid future headaches.

Listen to your neighbors’ concerns and have remedies prepared to address them.

Pro Tip: Want to stop small problems from becoming BIG problems? Leave your cell phone with your neighbors so they can reach you first if they have a complaint about your guest or if there is an emergency.

https://www.airbnbhell.com/airbnb-neighbor-stories/ <--- problems with Airbnb neighbors.

[titaniumsalute]

69. Yeah that makes sense

I don't know much about Airbnb since I have never used them. Thanks.

[HipChick]

4. Sue the fuck out of them..

[malaise]

5. RW media has really helped to stoke the racists' fears

of the other

[procon]

6. I can't help but wonder how much Trump has interjected his hate and bigotry

into the fabric of society? Since Trump, and most Republicans, started constantly fueling racial hatreds and deliberately trying to separate people into warring camps, his supporters have an open invitation to let their repressed inner white supremist out of the closet.

Maybe some people are always wary of strangers in their neighborhoods, they are the gossips and the busy bodies who watch everything, but they rarely went beyond the binocular stage. I've been around for a long time and this stuff reminds me of the early years after the Civil Rights Act was passed and it made the white supremacists go foaming-at-the-mouth crazy.

[oberliner]

10. Zero

This predates Trump.

[Ligyron]

11. That's absolutely true.

Still, you know Putin is loving this.

[Anon-C]

12. Yep. It's deeper too, sadly.

[Ferrets are Cool]

20. I cannot disagree with you more(the zero part). He has emboldened the

racism and bigotry and has "normalized" it for those who already have it in their souls.

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

22. Ferret Are Cool....

You get the gold Star, Cigar & BANANA!! ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!

[Ferrets are Cool]

23. ...

[paleotn]

32. He's made it OK to be outwardly racist.....

However, calling the cops on some "black guys" from the safety of a locked home and having the police overreact predates the age of dumpster.

A few years before we were married, my wife and a black male colleague were driving through a certain part of the southern city when they were stopped by the police. The officers in question immediately assumed her friend was up to something and kept asking her if she was OK, as though she were being held hostage or something. No ticket or traffic citation. Nothing. They were stopped simply because she is white and her colleague is black and male and the two of them driving together wasn't supposed to occur in that particular neighborhood. That was in the mid 80's and those morons are still around.

[Ferrets are Cool]

34. I agree.

[oberliner]

46. I respectfully disagree

The Obama presidency seemed to bring out some of the nastiest racism imaginable from the deplorables.

The "Tea Party" movement showcased (and normalized) some of the ugliest bigotry for those who had it in their souls.

“The Tea Party has engaged in relentless racist attacks against our African-American President. For example, when the President visited my home of Orlando, Tea Party protesters shouted ‘Kenyan Go Home.’ Other examples include Tea Party chants of ‘Bye Bye, Blackbird,’ and Tea Party posters saying ‘Obama’s Plan: White Slavery,’ ‘Imam Obama Wants to Ban Pork’ and ‘The Zoo Has An African Lion, and the White House Has a Lyin’ African.’”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/tea-party-racist_n_4158262.html

[Ferrets are Cool]

55. Nodding in agreement.

I hope we can agree that we both have salient points.

[oberliner]

70. Absolutely

It's an ugly reality that it is important for everyone in the US to face up to and address. Especially now - that's for sure.

[barbtries]

27. trump made it cool.

he's emboldened racists and brought them out from under their rocks. fuck him and fuck racism.
having said that i am still getting woke to how historically present and deeply ingrained racism is in this country. i knew we weren't over it, but i used to dismiss racists by thinking how pathetic they must be that all they have to hang their hat on is being white. now i realize it runs so much deeper than that. my education continues.

[oberliner]

47. I think the tea party movement made it "cool" for them

Though I guess some of them probably feel emboldened to have members of their crowd having so much power in this administration.

Regardless, the ugliness was front and center from those bigots throughout the Obama presidency.

[barbtries]

49. no argument there nt

[kimbutgar]

7. I have seen a change in people since Twitler

Last edited Mon May 7, 2018, 10:55 AM - Edit history (2)

Going different places you see white people looking at minorities differently. Theres a flea market I have gone to for years. Very ethnically mixed. Yesterday a long time vendor who is of Mexican ancestry told me a white guy called him a spic. He was shocked because he hadn’t heard that word since the 60’s. Another vendor a gorgeous black women with a long time white boyfriend who I also known for years said a white guy told her boyfriend, why are you with this “n word” bitch? The boyfriend told him ,” because she is the love of my life”. The guy called him race traitor and walked away.

The racists are becoming more emboldened and until The rethug party stands up it will get worst.

[dawg day]

9. "No, YOU'RE the race traitor-- a traitor to the whole human race."

[Tipperary]

52. Um.

Mexican “dissent”? Wha?

[kimbutgar]

65. There fixed it of "Mexican ancestry".

[Neema]

74. That's totally true.

My husband and I are not the same ethnicity. We've been together almost 30 years. I've been in more uncomfortable situations since the 2016 election than I have since we met in the late 80s. Luckily we live in a very diverse, very blue city. But it makes us never want to venture too far out into the burbs or surrounding red states.

[kimbutgar]

75. I'm in the same position

My husband is white and I am a light skinned black women. At first glance most people don’t know what I am and I have been stared at more then usual. In Italy I was confused for Italian, in Mexico, as Hispanic, I’ve also been asked if I’m Jewish. We went to visit my hubby family in Arizona as I was in a grocery store and this guy was staring at me intensely. He was trying to figure out what I was. I nudged my husband and told him this guy is giving me the stink eye. Hubby looks at him and said, “I see you notice my wife is very beautiful”. The guy huffed and walked away. I kissed my hubby for that one.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. The part I'm having trouble processing is that a cop

claims not to know what Airbnb is.

[Collimator]

15. Jay Leno told a story. . .

. . . About a guy pulled over by the police somewhere in Arizona. The cop claimed the driver had phony tags on his car.

Why?

Because "there's no such thing as west Virginia," the officer explained.

[drray23]

17. I used to live in Albuquerque, New mexico.

I have experienced lots of crazy comments like , do you need a passport to go there ?, do they speak English, etc..

[Hassin Bin Sober]

83. Good lord. Doesn't surprise me. Lol

[Ferrets are Cool]

18. I've never heard of them, but a HELICOPTER????? Give me a fuckin break!!!

This was so overboard. I am so sick of this shit.

I didn't used to curse as much as I do now. I blame that on the PGIC.

[TrogL]

81. They have to justify having the helicopter

It probably gets called out for all sorts of stupid shit just to keep it in the air, otherwise they lose their funding.

[paleotn]

33. You would be very surprised....

The pay is crap and the hours suck. Many jurisdictions end up with the dregs. There are many who do it for all the right reasons. I know some of them. But there are also quite a few who are dumber than stumps and get their kicks by walking around with a gun.

[Mariana]

42. The cops could have been lying

because they wanted to hassle these people for fun.

[Cha]

44. I know, huh? My daughter told me last

year on the phone they were going to stay in an Air B&B in Virginia and I had to ask.. but I don't get out much.

Then I googled it and learned more.

[obamanut2012]

62. I have a friend who had Rez tags

Comanche, and the same thing happened. He was arrested and his car impounded, and he spent the weekend in jail, in a town he was just riding through to stay with a friend and go skiing. The PD helped him get sprung, but not until late Monday. His family and friends thought he was dead or something, and HE STILL AHD TO PAY AN IMPOUND FEE TO GET HIS CAR OUT.

The magistrate tore into teh DA and the cops in open court at least, and apologized to the man.

[safeinOhio]

16. Hey folks, I'm an old white guy and I have always done this

and now I'm getting great responses for doing it.

In public, when I see someone that does not fit in with the rest of the people around me, I make a point of smiling, saying hello and starting a conversation. Black, yellow, green or blue or just foreign looking.
Now those people are really responding to me in a positive way, they become my friend.

Try it, you'll like it.

[Ferrets are Cool]

19. That's nice and I do it too. It should NOT, however,

be a requirement and should NEVER get the cops involved.

[gay texan]

31. "If you smile at me

I will understand, because that is something everyone does in the same language"

[safeinOhio]

35. Wooden ships

[gay texan]

36. ...

[BigmanPigman]

24. Don't they have REAL crimes and criminals to go after?

Maybe there are too many cops and they need to invent crimes to justify their jobs and paychecks. About 10 years ago I had an accident where I hit a parked car across the street from my house and 7 police cars came! And guess what, I was sent the bill of $1,200 to pay for them! I called a lawyer and he said this is common practice and there was nothing I could do about it! This was in CA.

[AllyCat]

38. A bill?? Isn't that what taxes are supposed to be for?

[BigmanPigman]

40. Apparently not.

I will be pissed off over this until the day I die.

[AllyCat]

41. If we have to pay for it, we should get to decide how many officers we get

[hunter]

61. Maybe there are some advantages to living in a place with an understaffed police department.

Our cops probably would have asked you to file a report on their web page or in person at the police station. They would have told the person whose car you hit the same.

They do respond pretty quick if someone is bleeding or on fire, and to gang shootings whether or not anyone's been hit. They've installed gunshot detectors in the city that pinpoint gunfire, but the shooters are usually gone when they get there. Then all they can do is question people in the vicinity. If it's gang bullshit they may not get answers. ICE hasn't done anything to improve those sorts of problems, they've only made them worse. The police can't do their jobs if nobody will talk to them.

[barbtries]

25. there's a whole long thread on twitter

#living while black ... i want to find it and i hope you post your story for exposure. because this fucking shit has got to stop. white racists need to own it and get the fuck over it.

i'm really sorry this happened to you. if you by a miracle did not miss your flight over this yay, if you did i would consider seriously talking to a lawyer. the woman was so far out of line it's ridiculous, and a policeman does not know what airbnb is and wouldn't take your confirmation as proof of your innocence of any crime whatsoever?!. jeez

Link to tweet

[gollygee]

26. This did not happen to me

and I read about it first on Twitter. Hopefully this woman has found that thread.

[barbtries]

29. good.

a whole bunch of outrageous stories in that thread. we should all be ashamed of what goes on.

[Hekate]

28. 1) The neighbors should know 2) the cops should know what AirBnB is by now, you would think

The ignorance of the cops is what really astounds me. The whle episode is sad, outrageous, stupid, unwarranted...

I'm so sorry their vacation was ruined by this episode.

[jberryhill]

72. Some people don't tell their neighbors they've started renting on Airbnb

Because a lot - a LOT - of Airbnb's are in violation of deed restrictions, insurance, permits, leases, and so on.

So what sometimes happens is that the neighbors see unusual activity and call police. This is not the first nor the last time this sort of thing has/will happen.

Here are some Airbnb neighbor Hell stories:

https://www.airbnbhell.com/airbnb-neighbor-stories/

[KY_EnviroGuy]

77. Doesn't this have some parallel to Uber?

Where a normally professional, well-regulated business (cab companies or hotels) is thrown into the private sector? I know Uber and some of their drivers have been sued or charged with crimes numerous times.

All the result of poor or no regulation, or lax enforcement.

[jberryhill]

79. Some... but very different when your apartment building or neighbor's house becomes a hotel

And, yep, there's Airbnb burglars:

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/09/02/airbnb-burglaries-on-rise-using-last-minute-cancellations/

The latest trending scam involves customers cancelling their rental agreement just hours, or sometimes sooner, before it starts — but after they’ve received the key code to get inside the home.

Boca Raton Police are warning the community of this type of scam following an incident on August 29th.

A Boca resident rented out their home on Airbnb for 10 days, but it was cancelled three hours before the rental was set to begin. However, the garage code was already sent to the customers for entry.

[FailureToCommunicate]

30. Once again an infuriating incident of 'living while black': cops called in by f**king wypipo

[AllyCat]

37. This is criminal. This is trampling on human rights.

We need new cops, new judges, and education for citizens.

[mythology]

39. And if they waved with their phone in their hand

no doubt the neighbor would have been afraid of a gun.

[HipChick]

45. They messed with the wrong one this time...the girl involved is apparently Bob Marley's Grand child.

I hope she sues the crap of out them..

[Ilsa]

48. There are neighborhoods trying to restrict

Airbnb from their neighborhoods. They don't like loud partying, etc. Because of that, the homeowners may not tell their neighbors about renting out their homes. But I suspect that has little to do with these people not telling their neighbors about why people are coming and going.

[knightmaar]

50. If they had waved, I'm sure she'd have called the cops because they were brandishing a weapon at her

[cannabis_flower]

53. Here's a video of the person who reported them

[geardaddy]

76. Perfect!

[weissmam]

54. Time to sue for false arrest

[ehrnst]

56. I hope she's fined for that fake call. (nt)

[TNNurse]

64. Absolutely

She owes the other taxpayers in that area for the money spent sending those cops. I hope we see outrage.

[lunasun]

57. We agreed a long time ago we could not ever use airbnb because of potential problems

Mostly flat out rejection , being viewed as suspicious upon arrival , or being lectured like kids or constantly checked up on . Possibly an unscrupulous renter charging us unfairly for a cleanup not needed , arguments etc.
We have money for a hotel or villa and they are forced to treat thier clients with courtesy and take all reservations
However I never thought of these experiences of police being called or being searched and maybe detained and missing a flight
Just solidifies by assumption
No it's too unregulated and i now see unsecured k&r and passing this link to others esp young folks like in the video .

[lisby]

58. The fuh?

"Their Sergeant arrived... he explained they didn’t know what Airbnb was."

Speaks volumes about the cops.

[heaven05]

59. wow

I would HATE to have to experience this, for nothing. Draconian State. Fascist?

[gopiscrap]

63. I would fucking sue the shit out of everyone involved

[BumRushDaShow]

66. One of the victims was Bob Marley's grand-daughter.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210585294

[BobTheSubgenius]

71. As an awful homonym,

they got to WAIVE their rights to freely move about when they consciously, and possibly maliciously, chose to be In Public While Black.

[MicaelS]

73. People will end up getting killed over AirBnB..

And cities will crack down on this shit.

[Blue_Tires]

78. Every time frightened white folks call the cops on scary minorities

they are putting our lives in grave danger...

I really wish someone would hammer that thought home.

[Afromania]

80. They know, they just don't care.

Our lives mean less to to that particular set of people than those of their pets. Black person didn't smile and do a little dance for me so now I must call the police.

[HockeyMom]

82. Imagine in Florida during Season

when people come, and people go, from all different states, and different countries? Owners can get big bucks in Florida for rentals; week, month, or entire Season. Are you extended family or are you Snowbirds?

[Queen of the Iceni]

86. We were leaving our manufacturing building one night. I was with my husband and small son, as

we were leaving the cops pulled up and and demanded our ID’S. They didn’t believe we owned the building and said they wanted to know who to come after if anything was missing. I felt really small.