Emirati man detained over terror fears sues Ohio hotel, cops

CLEVELAND – An Emirati man briefly detained at an Ohio hotel after a clerk heard him speaking Arabic and thought he was a terrorist has sued the hotel chain, police and others.

Ahmed Al-Menhali was staying at a hotel outside Cleveland last June when Avon police responded to a 911 call from the clerk’s family saying that the 41-year-old al-Menhali could have ties to the Islamic State group.

The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday says Avon police put him on the ground and treated him roughly before realizing he wasn’t a terrorist.

The lawsuit says Al-Menhali was taken to a hospital afterward and had undergone open heart surgery in February 2016. It is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

A Marriott International spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit.