'TERRORIST' BLUNDER Armed cops arrest innocent Arab wearing traditional headscarf who they mistakenly believed was an ISIS fanatic

Tackled ... The innocent businessman was restrained by heavily armed cops

Police officers swooped on the businessman after a receptionist at his hotel 'heard him pledging allegiance to ISIS', DASHCAM footage shows the moment police swoop on a man suspected of  being an ISIS terrorist before later discovering he’s an innocent businessman from the United Arab Emirates.

Heavy-handed ... Police strapped Mr al-Menhali to a stretcher before taking him to hospital

Officers were acting on an emergency call that said a man in Arabic dress was heard “pledging allegiance to ISIS” in a hotel lobby.

Apology ... Avon police chief Richard Bosley said sorry to Mr al-Menhali

Traditional dress ... Men from UAE wear typical white attire with headscarf

But the 41-year-old Emirati was merely speaking in his native language on the phone. His arrest by heavily armed cops in Cleveland, Ohio has led the UAE to summon a senior US diplomat to complain about the "abusive treatment" their citizen received.


The Persian Gulf nation's foreign ministry expressed their "discontent" at the arrest of Ahmed al-Menhali, who was in the United States to receive medical treatment.

Shock footage of the incident captured by a body camera attached to an officer from Avon City, a suburb of Cleveland -- shows a police squad pointing powerful rifles at Mr al-Menhali as he stands in the lobby of Fairfield Inn and Suites.