People who are not black have a hard time understanding what another’s life is like. Imagine if everyone glanced away from you and clutched their purse tightly as they passed by you. Imagine standing on the sidewalk waiting for the light to change, and you could hear the people locking the car doors. A man in Cleveland had a far worse experience.
Paul McCowns, 19, went to the Huntington Branch Bank to cash his very first paycheck. It was for a little over $1,000. He said, according WOIO-TV:
‘I had got a new job. I worked there for about three weeks. They tried to call my employer numerous times. He never picked up the phone.’
McCowns had just started his new job at an electric company and was feeling good. The teller required two forms of ID. He provided them. The teller agreed that the young man had done so.
Then, the bank asked him to give them a fingerprint, which was policy for anyone who was not a customer at their bank. He did what they asked.
That was when things started going badly. McCowns noticed that the bank employees were clustered around the computer screen and questioning something.
Then, the teller told him they could not cash his paycheck. So, McCowns said he left the bank.
What he did not know at that point was as he began to leave, the teller called 911 to report him. After the fact, McCowns was also able to request a copy of the 911 call and the police report.
When the 911 operator picked up, the teller began apprising her of the situation:
Then, the teller told the 911 operator:
‘He’s trying to cash a check, and the check is fraudulent. It does not match our records.’
The 911 operator asked:
 ‘Does he know you called 911?’
The teller told her:
‘No.’
McCowns left the building and got into his truck. Then, this happened:
‘I get in my truck and the squad car pull in front of me and he says get out the car.’
The police handcuffed McCowns, arrested him, and put him in the back of a Brooklyn Police cruiser. While he was sitting there not knowing what was next, wondering if he would be able to go back to his new job, what his family and friends would think, all he could do was wait.
The police tried to call the young man’s employer. Within minutes, they reached the man, who confirmed that McCowns’ paycheck was real and the young man was, indeed, his employee:
‘My employer said yes he works for me. He just started and yes, my payroll company does pay him that much.’
As a result of this bad situation, McCowns believed he had been profiled. The Brooklyn Police confirmed that there had been no fraud.
The next day the new employee went to another Huntington bank location. Everything went off without a hitch.
A bank representative told WOIO-TV that there had been 11 fraud cases at this branch within the past few months. That meant the tellers were instructed to be hyper vigilant, but the bank also released this formal apology:
‘We sincerely apologize to Mr. McCowns for this extremely unfortunate event. We accept responsibility for contacting the police as well as our own interactions with Mr. McCowns. Anyone who walks into a Huntington branch should feel welcomed. Regrettably, that did not occur in this instance and we are very sorry. We hold ourselves accountable to the highest ethical standards in how we operate, hire and train colleagues, and interact with the communities we have the privilege of serving.’
McCowns also wanted the branch and the involved tellers to apologize to him and to be held accountable for their actions. A bank representative indicated they tried to do so, but they had not yet reach the young employee.
Featured image is a screenshot via @NotComey Twitter page.
