A Black man in Hopkins, Minnesota was handcuffed after a U.S. Bank manager accused him of trying to cash a fake check.
“Banking while Black” is the latest incident in which a Black person is minding their own business doing nothing wrong and still being attacked or insulted over the color of their skin. According to ABC 5 KSTP, last year, 23-year-old grocery store worker Joe Morrow walked into a U.S. Bank in Washington, D.C.’s Columbia Heights and tried to cash his $900 check.
For some reason, the bank location’s manager John Askwith believed the check was fraudulent despite Morrow having his I.D.
Askwith ended up calling the police on Morrow, who was then handcuffed and arrested. Askwith told police the check was fake, even though it wasn’t. He allegedly didn’t look into the grocery store that gave Morrow the check until after Morrow had been taken into custody. The employer told Askwith that the check was, in fact, real.
“He [Askwith] came over and said, ‘Joe Morrow? Your check [is] fake.’ And I said, what?” Morrow told KSTP. “He said, ‘you people always coming in here with fake checks.'” Morrow went on to say: “When I’m coming out of [Askwith’s] office, I was handcuffed…people were looking…like I’m a criminal or something.”
Bodycam footage from the incident shows Morrow sitting inside Askwith’s office. The two exchange words, with Morrow explaining that the check was given to him by his job and that he believes that he is being accused of having a fake check because he’s Black.
“Joe, I need you to calm down, first of all, OK? Don’t say anything stupid because you’re just going to get arrested for it,” Sgt. Pletcher reportedly told Morrow, Newsweek reports.
By the end of it all, the bank and Morrow settled the dispute. However, the bank claims in a statement that Morrow’s race had nothing to do with how he was treated. “After a thorough internal investigation, there is nothing to indicate that the customer’s race or ethnicity played a factor in the service he received at this branch,” U.S. Bank spokesperson Lee Henderson told KSTP, Newsweek reports.
The company released another statement after some alleged backlash, saying that it would be reviewing its company practices. The Askwith is still employed with the bank pending a review of the “situation.”
BREAKING: @usbank CEO issues apology for incident w/Black customer accused of fraud and cuffed trying to cash his paycheck. Total reversal from earlier statement to @KSTP that there was "nothing to indicate" race was a factor. Watch the body cam video: https://t.co/GWv0DJjvfR pic.twitter.com/2Jg1sJcM0n
— Eric Rasmussen (@Eric_Rasmussen) December 10, 2021
