Black flight attendant attacked in nail salon
Donation protected
My name is Michaelá , I’m a 24 y/o flight attendant...July 4th While staying in Michigan for a work trip I took a Lyft to happy nails nail salon in Westland Michigan for a simple polish change.
After the male employee finished repainting my nails I went to the counter to pay and was told the total charge was double the expected price. When I asked why they were attempting to overcharge me, the lady rudely and aggressively told me that’s the price of the service and walked away.
I politely and patiently waited for her to walk back to the front of the salon so we could fix the price and once she came back, she refused. She accused me of asking for a service that I did not ask for and then began yelling at me after everything I said.
I told her I was willing to pay for the service I requested, she did not like that response. She proceeded to walk to the front door and began insulting me and started saying I was stealing again.
(I have never been to this salon before or any salon in Michigan) this was my first time in Westland Michigan as well.
When I told her she had me mistaken she then locked the front door to the salon and began saying she was going to call the police on me. All while still blocking and locking the front entrance & insulting me.
When I noticed she was not calling the police I then made my own emergency call to the police...I began to fear for my safety and well being.
The lady continued to get verbally aggressive and insulting me. There were individuals inside the salon as well who were speaking ill towards me and I began to panick. I no longer felt safe and knew at any moment things were going to go left and this angry gang of workers would jeopardize my safety.
When I noticed the lady unlocking the door to tell customers outside to leave, I went to the door so I could wait for the police outside where I felt safe and not confined to a building where I was being threatened.
When I got to the door the lady began attacking me by kicking me, wrapping her arm around my neck & choking me and ripping my belongings off of me. I am completely full of fear and distress now. Not knowing what to do, I’m trying everything to escape the attack when other employees of happy nails nail salon male and female begin attacking me from behind. Pulling on my legs attempting to drag me into the salon and beating me in my back.
I start screaming & trying my hardest to escape when two bystanders come to pull me away and stop the attack. They were able to pull me outside the salon and the workers start grabbing my belongings and taking them inside the salon to keep them from me. (A man who helped me was able to get my belongings back). The woman who helped me offers me a ride to my hotel, where I then call the police again.
After all the phone calls to the police ended, I then begin to receive threatening calls from people the nail salon had given my information to...one of the workers who I assume knew the attackers personally has made false reports & posted my information online encouraging others to attack me.
When I went to the westland Michigan police station, I was met by officer Gilbert who was over the case. After telling him what happened & stating that I wanted to press charges he refused to allow me to do so. Confused & very hurt by this outcome & after asking for clarification he begins smirking & just tells me to take it to court.
Not allowing me to press charges against my attackers, taking my pain as a joke, as well as twisting the story to make it seem as if I were even capable of the things they claim I did is horrible, unjust and heartbreaking.
I have been battling with emotional stress, traumatized by the events that went down that day I have not been able to rest for weeks now. Trying my hardest to take the necessary steps to heal has been difficult and troubling for me, but I do have faith that I will be back to my normal self again one day...
I have finally found a lawyer in Michigan who I believe can help me get justice and peace of mind, however because I know no one works for free there are fees that have to be paid & due mostly to the pandemic are not easy for me to cover alone right now...anything will help.
Thank you in advance.
After the male employee finished repainting my nails I went to the counter to pay and was told the total charge was double the expected price. When I asked why they were attempting to overcharge me, the lady rudely and aggressively told me that’s the price of the service and walked away.
I politely and patiently waited for her to walk back to the front of the salon so we could fix the price and once she came back, she refused. She accused me of asking for a service that I did not ask for and then began yelling at me after everything I said.
I told her I was willing to pay for the service I requested, she did not like that response. She proceeded to walk to the front door and began insulting me and started saying I was stealing again.
(I have never been to this salon before or any salon in Michigan) this was my first time in Westland Michigan as well.
When I told her she had me mistaken she then locked the front door to the salon and began saying she was going to call the police on me. All while still blocking and locking the front entrance & insulting me.
When I noticed she was not calling the police I then made my own emergency call to the police...I began to fear for my safety and well being.
The lady continued to get verbally aggressive and insulting me. There were individuals inside the salon as well who were speaking ill towards me and I began to panick. I no longer felt safe and knew at any moment things were going to go left and this angry gang of workers would jeopardize my safety.
When I noticed the lady unlocking the door to tell customers outside to leave, I went to the door so I could wait for the police outside where I felt safe and not confined to a building where I was being threatened.
When I got to the door the lady began attacking me by kicking me, wrapping her arm around my neck & choking me and ripping my belongings off of me. I am completely full of fear and distress now. Not knowing what to do, I’m trying everything to escape the attack when other employees of happy nails nail salon male and female begin attacking me from behind. Pulling on my legs attempting to drag me into the salon and beating me in my back.
I start screaming & trying my hardest to escape when two bystanders come to pull me away and stop the attack. They were able to pull me outside the salon and the workers start grabbing my belongings and taking them inside the salon to keep them from me. (A man who helped me was able to get my belongings back). The woman who helped me offers me a ride to my hotel, where I then call the police again.
After all the phone calls to the police ended, I then begin to receive threatening calls from people the nail salon had given my information to...one of the workers who I assume knew the attackers personally has made false reports & posted my information online encouraging others to attack me.
When I went to the westland Michigan police station, I was met by officer Gilbert who was over the case. After telling him what happened & stating that I wanted to press charges he refused to allow me to do so. Confused & very hurt by this outcome & after asking for clarification he begins smirking & just tells me to take it to court.
Not allowing me to press charges against my attackers, taking my pain as a joke, as well as twisting the story to make it seem as if I were even capable of the things they claim I did is horrible, unjust and heartbreaking.
I have been battling with emotional stress, traumatized by the events that went down that day I have not been able to rest for weeks now. Trying my hardest to take the necessary steps to heal has been difficult and troubling for me, but I do have faith that I will be back to my normal self again one day...
I have finally found a lawyer in Michigan who I believe can help me get justice and peace of mind, however because I know no one works for free there are fees that have to be paid & due mostly to the pandemic are not easy for me to cover alone right now...anything will help.
Thank you in advance.
Organizer
Michaelá Hawkins
Organizer
Westfield, TX