Unwelcomed Motel Chaos

 

A former Monroe resident who was recently in-town visiting the area with his wife experienced an encounter at a local business that didn't turn out pleasant. John Robert Badger was in town staying at Studio 6 and was booked to stay two nights. On the morning of the day that they were scheduled to leave, an incident happened on the motel premises, which left the couple angry with an employee at the motel. According to Badger, they returned back to the motel after running an errand to find that their pass key was no longer working. After several attempts to gain access to their prepaid room, they went to the desk and explained their situation to the person on duty. That's when their problems began. When they asked about their pass key not working, they were allegedly told that there "was an issue" with the keys. Badger said that he told the employee that they just wanted to get into their room where their belongings were located. To their surprise/dismay, the employee allegedly told the couple that verification of who they were was needed, especially Badger. When Badger's wife booked the room, had been no problems getting a room, and up until that point, everything had gone well. The couple became irritated by the employee's response to them wanting to access the room they had already paid for and occupied. The exchange with the employee happened around 4:00 AM in the morning, and Badger and his wife only had a few hours left before they would check out of the motel but were locked out. Management called a Monroe police officer to the motel, though Badger said that he didn't do or say anything that was threatening, despite the situation. The officer arrived, and according to Badger, must have wanted to get to the motel so fast that he exited his cruiser with it still in gear. As he noticed his vehicle was still in gear, Badger said that the officer ran out and secured his vehicle. After hearing from Badger, his wife, and the employee, the officer did not allow access to the room. An employee also did not go to their room and bring their belongings to them. Not wanting to cause a scene, Badger asked to call a supervisor. When speaking to a supervisor, Badger said that the supervisor allegedly spoke to him as if he(the supervisor) disregarded his call, showing hardly any interest or concern over what had happened at the motel. Badger and his wife left the motel around 5:00 AM and stopped by the Easy Mart store on 594 at I-20. There were officers at the store by coincidence, and Badger casually asked them for their opinion on what he had just experienced. To Badger's surprise, the officers said they heard the call and that he and his wife had a right to their belongings and that the responding officer mishandled their situation.

For those who are not familiar with who John Badger is, he is the man who became known as the "whistleblower", who contacted the FBI over the abuse suffered by inmates at Richwood Correctional Center several years ago. Badger worked there as a CO (correctional officer), and through an investigation by the FBI, several ranking officers and correctional officers(guards) were convicted. After leaving Richwood, Badger worked for the city, but would later move to another state. Badger said that he did what he knew was right by going over his superiors at Richwood and straight to the FBI. If he hadn't, the community might not have known the truth of what happened at Richwood, as abuse may still be going on.

Justice prevailed in this instance. Badger is filing two lawsuits against the motel where they stayed and against MPD for its gross handling of the situation, from the responding officer to the supervisor who Badger said wasn't helpful or professional. He refuses to be intimidated or belittled when he knows he has rights. He has decided to press on because when someone is right, all they have to do is "leave it in God's hands."

 

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