MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Disturbing new details are emerging about the carjacking at an East Memphis hotel arranged by a group of men posing as police officers.
One of the victims described it as one of the scariest moments of his life. “I’m never going back to Memphis,” he said.
The New York man never thought he would say those words until his trip to The Hilton Memphis turned bad. “We heard that was the best hotel and most expensive hotel.”
He and a group of friends were confronted by who they thought were local police officers in the parking lot Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m thinking it’s the police the whole time. When they started hitting us with the guns and pulling our chains, pulling the watches and stuff, and telling us to get on the floor, I was like, ‘Naw, we getting robbed,'” he said.
The suspects got away with thousands of dollars in valuables. Now, the victim’s sense of safety and confidence in law enforcement has faded.
“They kept saying they were going to shoot us. We kept begging them not to shoot us. Next time I see the police officers, I’m running. If it’s them and they catch me, I will tell them what happened. I’m traumatized,” said the victim.
Memphis Police issued a public safety announcement warning people to remain vigilant.
As the search continues for the suspects, the victim is calling for more to be done to protect citizens and tourists. “That city needs more cops, more control. I don’t know what’s going on with that city. Every state got bad cities, bad spots, but this is out of control,” he said.
The carjacked vehicle was later recovered, but there is no word yet if police have linked anyone to the crime.
WREG reached out to the Hilton, and they declined to comment.
