Photo Courtesy of KTSP
A 23-year-old Black man was handcuffed and accused of trying to cash a fraudulent payroll check at a Minnesota bank.
Last week, a KTSP news investigation released footage of the racist incident involving Joe Morrow and his experience of #BankingWhileBlack at the U.S. Bank branch in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. In October 2020, Morrow went to the bank to cash his $900 paycheck. He had his identification with him. After working a 12-hour shift at his grocery distributor job, the racial profiling began when he gave the teller his check.
“They were all looking at me and just staring at me. And then looking at the check and then staring at me again, and I already know what they’re thinking — that the check (is) fake,” the 23-year-old man told KTSP regarding the incident of #BankingWhileBlack.
“The manager? He came over and said, ‘Joe Morrow? Your check (is) fake.’ And I said, what?” he replied. “He said, ‘You people always coming in here with fake checks.'”
The bank manager called the police, who arrived on the scene.
Police bodycam footage revealed that Morrow was antagonized by the bank manager after disclosing that he worked for the distributor. When the cops arrived, the insulted man sat quietly at the manager’s desk.
“I work there, bro,” he told the branch manager. “And I’m going to report you too, bro. This is racial.”
The cop on the scene threatened Morrow with jail even though the man was speaking calmly.
“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.”
Morrow stands up and is then arrested by the officer.
“I didn’t threaten him. I got up, like, I’m mad,” he tells the officer in the video. “The guy told the officer, can you get him out of my office? He might take something on my desk… that’s when I got super mad. I’m going to touch something on your desk?”
Although that is a typical procedure, the racist branch manager never bothered to verify the Mississippi native’s employment at United Natural Foods. Only after police detained Morrow, the incompetent leader confirmed the check was valid.
Initially, the bank denied that race was a factor in Morrow’s treatment.
“At U.S. Bank, we’re committed to fairness toward everyone we serve regardless of race,” said U.S. Bank spokesperson Lee Henderson in an issued statement. “We dispute the facts as they’re being portrayed to you.”
Over a year after the racial profiling occurred, U.S. Bank President Andy Cecere finally issued an apology on December 10– essentially walking back from the establishment’s prior statement.
The branch manager is still employed at the bank, but an investigation is reportedly ongoing.