U.S. military apologizes after special forces detain wrong guest in mock hotel raid
Officials have offered a public apology to a man who was wrongfully detained when special forces broke into his hotel room during a training exercise.
The exercise gone wrong was first reported by CBS Boston. FBI agents were "assisting" the Department of Defense in conducting a mock raid at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday at the Revere Hotel. Because of "inaccurate information," the agents were "mistakenly sent into the wrong room and detained an individual, not the intended role player," the agency said in a statement.
According to CBS Boston, the man detained was a Delta Air Lines pilot. Agents handcuffed and interrogated the man, then put him in the room's shower. He was handcuffed for about 45 minutes before the agents realized their mistake, CBS Boston reported. The FBI directed questions to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
On Thursday, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said that they would "like to extend our deepest apologies" to the man, saying that the training was "meant to enhance soldiers' skills to operate in realistic and unfamiliar circumstances."
"The training team, unfortunately, entered the wrong room and detained an individual unaffiliated with the exercise," the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said. "The Boston Police Department responded to the scene and confirmed that this was indeed a training exercise. The safety of civilians in vicinity of our training is always our number one concern. We are reviewing this serious incident with our partners and no further details will be released at this time."
The FBI told CBS News earlier in the week that they were working to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
"Safety is always a priority of the FBI, and our law enforcement partners, and we take these incidents very seriously," the FBI said. "The Boston Division is reviewing the incident with DOD for further action as deemed appropriate."