In another edition of #ThingsYouCan’tDoWhileBlack, the cops were called on an Ohio man for simply trying to cash his check.
According to Cleveland News 19, Paul McCowns went to the Huntington Bank branch inside Giant Eagle on Biddulph Avenue on December 1st. He went to the bank to cash his first check from an electric company he had been employed by. He was asked for two forms of ID, which bank employees confirmed he had, and a fingerprint per policy for non-Huntington customers who wish to cash checks.
McCowns says the bank employees started questioning the transaction, “they tried to call my employer numerous times. He never picked up the phone.” The check was for a little over $1,000, tellers told McCowns he couldn’t cash it so he left. However, as soon as he pulled off the lot, “the squad car pulled in front of me and says get out of the car.” Just before the authorizes handcuffed McCowns and took him to jail, they were able to confirm his place of employment and that his check was real.
In a public statement, Huntington said:
“We sincerely apologize to Mr. McCowns for this extremely unfortunate event. We accept responsibility for contacting the police as well as 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, train colleagues, and interact with the communities we have the privilege of serving.”
Do you think that the tellers should be fired? Also, do you think that if there were penalties and jail time attached to wrongfully calling the police on black people that the harassment might stop?
