CLEVELAND (WSVN) — A man says he was left baffled and confused after police placed him in handcuffs after he tried to cash a check at an Ohio bank.
According to WOIO, 30-year-old Paul McCowns had just gotten his first paycheck from a new job and was trying to cash it at a Huntington Bank branch on Dec. 1. The check was for a little more than $1,000.
Since McCowns was not a member of the bank, he followed bank protocol which required him to provide two forms of ID and a fingerprint.
He said bank employees began questioning the transaction and tried to call McCowns’ employer, but he did not answer.
Believing the check to be fraudulent, the bank refused to cash it and McCowns left empty-handed. However, as he was getting into his truck, an police officer pulled in front of him and told him to get out of the vehicle.
McCowns then discovered that bank employees called 911 while he was there.
“He’s trying to cash a check and the check is fraudulent. It does not match our records,” said the teller to a 9-1-1 operator, according to a copy of the call received by WOIO.
The operator asked the teller: “Does he know you called 9-1-1?”
The teller responded: “No.”
McCowns was placed in handcuffs and placed in the back of a squad car. However, after an officer was able to get in contact with his employer and verified the check, he was released.
According to WOIO, McCowns, who is black, believes he may have been racially profiled.
A bank spokesperson said that branch had 11 arrests for fraudulent checks in the past few months, and a bank representative said the tellers were being hyper vigilant.
The bank has also released a statement apologizing for the incident.
“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 said he was able to go to cash the check at a different branch with no issues.
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