When Paul McCowns went to the Huntington Bank in Cleveland to cash his first paycheck from a new job, he was feeling great. That quickly changed after he presented all the needed forms of ID, and the bank would not cash his check. To add insult to injury, police were waiting outside to arrest him. Apparently, McCowns’ race and having a paycheck for a little over $1,000 seemed criminal to the tellers, who called the cops.
He told WOIO-News 19 that he had been working his new job for about three weeks. Because he was not a bank customer, he was required to give a thumbprint and two forms of ID, which he did. But the teller handling the transaction went a step further and attempted to reach his job to confirm that he did indeed work for the company. What McCowns did not realize is that a bank employee was also on the phone with 911. A partial transcription of the call is as follows:
Teller: “He’s trying to cash a check and the check is fraudulent. It does not match our records.”
Operator: “Does he know you called 911?”
Teller: “No.”
After several minutes, McCowns was told that the bank was unable to reach his employer and that the check could not be cashed. A dejected McCowns said when he left the bank, “I get in my truck and the squad car pulls in front of me and he says get out the car.”
He was then handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car while police further investigated the incident. The cops were able to reach McCowns’ boss who confirmed that he was an employee and that the check was legitimate. The police released McCowns and he was able to cash his check the next day at another Huntington Bank location. He stated that he believed bank employees were racially profiling him, the bank, however, disagreed. A representative stated that there have been 11 cases of fraud at that branch in just the last few months and that tellers were being “hyper-vigilant.”
The bank issued the following statement:
“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 has said that he wants the tellers held accountable for their actions and the bank to give him a personal apology. The bank says that they have been unable to reach McCowns to give him a personal apology.
