Joe Morrow was handcuffed and taken to a bank to cash his fake paycheck, which was later verified as real.
The recent release of body-camera footage showing a Minnesota man being handcuffed inside a U.S. Bank branch as he tried to cash his paycheck has gone viral.
Joe Morrow, 23, just finished a 12-hour shift at a grocery distributor and was trying to cash his $900 check at a branch in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, when he was called over by the teller.
They were all looking at me. Morrow said in an interview with KTSP-TV of Minneapolis that he was already aware that the check was fake when he looked at it again.
Body-camera footage of Joe Morrow at a Minnesota U.S. Bank branch has gone viral. There is a Screenshot/KSTP-TV.
The manager? He asked Joe Morrow. Your check is fake. And I asked, what? Morrow recalled. "He said, 'You people always come in here with fake checks.'"
Morrow was with police for over 45 minutes. Morrow can be heard saying that he is innocent in the first minute of the arrival of Sgt. Justin Pletcher. Morrow told the branch manager he was going to report him as well. This is not normal.
Morrow isn't using profanity or raising his voice, but the police officer still threatens him with arrest if he doesn't calm down. Don't say anything stupid because you're going to get arrested for it.
Morrow is handcuffed when he stands up.
Morrow is accused of threatening John Askwith in a threatening manner. I did not threaten him. Morrow said that he got up and was angry. The guy asked the officer if he could get him out of the office. I got mad when he might take something from my desk. I will touch something on your desk.
Askwith didn't call Morrow's employer until after police arrived and Morrow was handcuffed. After speaking with the company, Askwith was able to verify that the check was real.
At the time, U.S. Bank refused to interview the branch manager or any other employees. The facts are being portrayed to you.
The bank reached a settlement with Morrow only two weeks after the incident, yet officials maintain that there is nothing to indicate that the customer's race or ethnicity played a factor in the service he received.
The U.S. Bank has come under fire for its handling of the incident, but also for the fact that the officer who spoke to the man said he needed to stay calm. It makes you look guilty when you act like this.
The officer's statement was condemned by a professor at the University of Minnesota. What is acting guilty? He said that. You are blamingMorrow for creating the racism that he feels.
The TV station did not interview him, but he sent the news outlet links to stories about him defending another black man in a discrimination incident just days after the police murder of George Floyd.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Pletcher said, "If I am not on the same side of my community, I will fail this badge, any officer that disagrees."
In relation to the story about Morrow, Dr. Myers says that whites in Minnesota often say that they are not racist. The point is that you don't have to be a hostile bigot in order to engage in actions that have a discrimination effect.
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