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Girl Power: All Around Athlete 6/17/13
UPDATE: Protesters Gather at Best Western After Seeing Story About Mistreated Veteran 8/9/12
August 9, 2012
UPDATE 5:30pm
After seeing our story protesters are starting to gather in protest at Best Western in Monahans.
We also now have a picture of Sgt. Staples.
We have a reporter on the scene, we also spoke exclusively with Staff Sgt. Staples on the phone, and have his side of the story in his own words all coming up on CBS 7 at 6 and 10 pm.
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Update 3:25 PM
CBS 7 crews have just confirmed that Staff Sergeant Chad Staples was a guest at the Best Western Plus Monahans Inn & Suites in Monahans.
Andy Patel, the hotel’s manager, confirms that the hotel was very full when Staples requested a room. At that time Patel says Staples expressed no issue with being placed on a higher floor nor did he mention anything about his disability needs.
Patel also confirms that a power outage did shut down the elevator around the time that Staples was checking out. Patel was not at the hotel when the alleged incident occurred.
The woman working the front desk has just returned to the hotel and delivered a written statement that we will have available shortly.
We are told that the Monahan’s Chamber of Commerce has been flooded with emails from across the country demanding action. The Chamber is unable to take any action because the incident occurred within the hotel itself.
CBS 7 has just made contact with Staff Sergeant Chad Staples. Stay with CBS 7 News for the latest on this developing story.
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Update 2:15 pm
The owner of the Best Western hotel in Monahans confirms to the Monahans News this afternoon, that, some details in a CNN ireport claiming Staff Sergeant Chad Staples was mistreated at the hotel on Tuesday, are true.
The CNN iReport has gone viral on the Internet, sparking outrage on many social media sites, but there are still a lot of questions about this story.
We're in Monahans today digging to find out more.
We'll have much more tonight on CBS 7 News at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 & 10:00.
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Monahans, TX – Many veterans are enraged by the claims that paralyzed Iraq veteran, Chad Staples, was mistreated at the Monahans Best Western on August 7th.
A CNN ireport stated that after a power outage left the elevator out of service, Staples called down to the front desk to receive assistance to get from the third floor to the main level. But instead of receiving help, he was laughed at and received no further help from a female employee.
The report stated that Staples was forced to throw his bags and his wheelchair down the steps, then crawl down the steps to get to the bottom floor.
Best Western has confirmed that case number is 120806-3855 was filed by Staples. They could not disclose the details in the case, but they did state it is still active.
A friend of Staples, who served with him in Iraq stated that the military community is banning together on this. He stated that they are planning to boycott Best Western hotels.
We have not been able to contact Staples yet, but we are in the process of finding him. A Best Western public relations representative stated they would get back with us for a formal statement.