Police Kick Homeless Man Out of Hotel in Roanoke, Virginia

A homeless man was kicked out of a hotel by police in Roanoke, Virginia, on February 18, despite his room having been paid for.

Footage taken by Anthony Garrison shows a woman, identified by local news as Gwendolyn Carswell, arguing with police officers in a Econo Lodge Civic Center hotel room.

“I’m just paying for this man,” Carswell tells the officer, “he said to pay a deposit, I did that. If anything happens in that room, it’s my credit card.”

According to local news reports, Carswell had told the Econo Lodge she had purchased the room for herself, with hotel management responding that they had a strict “no visitor” policy.

“On February 18, 2021 at approximately 3:45 p.m., Roanoke Police responded to a call for service at a business in the 300 block of Orange Avenue NE,” the Roanoke Police said in a statement, as per the news report. “Responding officers were advised by management that a person was inside the business, management asked the person to leave and the involved parties were not leaving. Officers verbally deescalated the situation, spoke to the involved parties and suggested alternative locations for the individual to go. At that point, the involved parties left the business.” Credit: Anthony Garrison via Storyful