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A MAN tried to rent a car and showed multiple forms of identification but was denied, now he claims he was a victim of ignorance.
Humberto Marchand, who is from Puerto Rico, said the interaction left him feeling frustrated and isolated.
In May 2023, Marchand flew into Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to help his son move out of his apartment.
He tried to rent a car but an attendant at the Hertz rental car desk wouldn’t allow it despite Marchand paying in advance.
Marchand recorded the interaction with the video showing the attendant that Marchand needed a passport since he was a native of Puerto Rico.
However, Puerto Ricans, because they are US citizens, don’t typically travel with passports throughout mainland US as it’s not a requirement.
“@Hertz I’ve been a Hertz Gold Member for more than a decade! I just got denied a Prepaid Reservation (3 weeks ago) because I only had my REAL ID Driver License from PR,” Marchand wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The attendant called the police on Marchand because he refused to leave the area.
Kenner Police arrived within minutes and body camera footage shows the officer asking Marchand to leave the area for causing a disturbance.
“I do apologize. I don’t think that’s the way we want to be portrayed and he shouldn’t have been spoken to in that manner,” said police chief Keith Conley at the time.
An investigation was launched into the officer seen in the video, according to Conley.
Meanwhile, Marchand said that he was going to make a formal complaint against the officer.
At the time, he thought the officers would sort out the situation and let the attendant know that his ID was valid.
“It certainly did not put the Kenner Police Department in a good light. That’s not the way we like to be portrayed in the public, so we are going to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” said Conley.
Hertz also issued an apology to Marchand, saying that the attendant wasn’t following company policy and that a Puerto Rican driver’s license was as valid as any other US driver’s license.
Conley explained that the officer at the scene was responding to a disturbance call.
The police department said the officer was only there to “mitigate the disagreement” between Marchand and the attendant.
“By nature, we don’t get involved in civil matters. We don’t interpret policies. We don’t get involved in that stuff,” said Conley.
He added that he was thankful that the officer’s body camera was on during the incident.
Marchand initially claimed that he overheard the officer threatening to call “immigrant services” if he didn’t leave the area, however, a review of the footage showed that the officer said no such thing.
“This is why we have the availability of body cam footage, because it tells the proof,” said Conley.
“While we are relieved the officer didn’t threaten the gentleman with taking any kind of action with border patrol or any other federal services, his actions were a little concerning – a lot concerning.”
Hertz said it will remind its workers that Puerto Ricans don’t need to show a passport if they have their ID.
In a statement, the company added that Marchand will receive a full refund.
“Hertz accepts Puerto Rican driver’s licenses from our customers renting in the U.S. without requiring a valid passport. We sincerely regret that our policy was not followed and have apologized to Mr. Marchand and refunded his rental,” the statement read.
“We are reinforcing our policies with employees to ensure that they are understood and followed consistently across our locations.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Hertz for comment.