Armed police surrounded and ‘nearly killed’ four friends as they searched for beach gear at their Airbnb after the landlord spotted his guests on CCTV and told the cops he was being robbed.
Damien Dacuma from Las Vegas, Nevada, booked the stay with his girlfriend and two cousins at the two-bedroom, $162-a-night guest house in Aliso Viejo, California.
They were looking for beach gear in the property when around 15 officers from Orange County Police Department turned up.
The cops yelled ‘put your hands up’ and ‘don’t f***ing move’ while pointing guns at them.
Damien Dacuma (pictured) from Las Vegas, Nevada, booked the stay with his girlfriend and two cousins at the two-bedroom, $162-a-night guest house in Aliso Viejo, California
They were looking for beach gear in the property when around 15 officers from Orange County Police Department turned up. The cops yelled ‘put your hands up’ and ‘don’t f***ing move’ while pointing guns at them. pictured: Officers searching the car
Mr Dacuma said he saw officers pointing ‘assault rifles’ at his cousins before they handcuffed the group and interrogated them.
The holidaymakers claimed they were released after half an hour, having explained what they were doing in the property.
But Mr Dacuma overheard that the cops had almost shot the group, with one of them allegedly saying they could have easily been ‘killed’ during the stand off.
Mr Dacuma (pictured with his girlfriend Bella) said he saw officers pointing ‘assault rifles’ at his cousins before they handcuffed the group and interrogated them
The Airbnb owner had installed CCTV in the property and allegedly alerted the police when he saw the group inside his home, according to Mr Dacuma.
But it is unknown why the police were called as the group said they had already confirmed their stay with the host.
Mr Dacuma said he had been hoping for a relaxing holiday near Laguna Beach between September 18 and September 21.
But he recalled: ‘As we are unloading the car of all our belongings, all I hear is police officers screaming aggressively ”put your hands up” and ”don’t f***ing move”. And a bunch of that stuff.
‘Looking through the window and there’s about 15 officers pointing guns at my cousins and not just regular pistols, we’re talking about assault rifles and all.’
The entertainment brand owner continued: ‘So as you can see in the video I’m the last one to be detained as I was in the car watching everything and didn’t want to make a wrong move and give the officers a reason to shoot.
‘After officers detained us for 30 mins in handcuffs and back of their vehicles we were let go.
‘I complained to the officers and made them feel stupid as I felt they could’ve used better judgement rather than profiling us as armed robbers.’
Mr Dacuma has been traumatised by the incident and has filed a complaint to Airbnb.
He said: ‘While detained in the vehicle I overheard an officer stating ”the owner almost got four people killed” referring to the Airbnb owner. When I heard that I was in shock and still am to this day.
‘Seeing an officer look into a red dot sight while pointing a gun at me was the most traumatic experiences I’ve ever had really thought I was going to die.
‘Also the Airbnb owner was the main person responsible for this and did nothing to compensate, we are going to make this right.’
But Mr Dacuma (pictured) overheard that the cops had almost shot the group, with one of them allegedly saying they could have easily been ‘killed’ during the stand off
Mr Dacuma’s girlfriend Bella posted footage on Twitter of police searching their car and instructing them to get ‘on their knees’ as they arrested them.
In a Twitter thread, she wrote: ‘The police confirmed with the host that we were the renters and questioned him as to why he contacted the police claiming there were people in his home when he was expecting guests that day.
‘The police explained to the host that they had us at gun point and he was liable for any harm that could have been done to us.
‘This host completely put our lives in danger and could have been responsible for one of us being killed.
‘The host discriminated and falsely reported us of burglarizing his home even though he was expecting guests and I had already confirmed with him that we arrived.
‘He has now disclosed on his listing that he has cameras at the Airbnb and specifically in the garage, but has not explicitly stated he does not want guests to look at or touch specific portions of the home.
The Airbnb owner had installed CCTV in the property and allegedly alerted the police when he saw the group inside his home, Mr Dacuma (pictured with girlfriend Bella) claimed
‘I am truly concerned for the safety of future guests and them being at risk for being shot and killed by the police due to discrimination by the owner.
‘Airbnb has done absolutely nothing except suspend and red flag my account and accuse me of not respecting the owners privacy.
‘They have no regard for the safety of their members and have done the absolute bare minimum to handle this situation.’
Mr Dacuma posted a separate video of himself in the car before he was arrested.
He said in the clip: ‘I’m f***ing shaking yo. We got our Airbnb and these n*****s are tripping. Tripping.
‘I’m literally shaking right now bro. They got like 15 officers out here. I got way too much money for all this bro. He’s pointing an AR at me bro.’
MailOnline has contacted Airbnb for comment.