Cops Threaten Black Man with Arrest for Cashing Work Cheque at Own Bank

Oct. 2020 - Minneapolis, MN.

Joe Morrow, 23, had just finished a 12-hour shift at a grocery distributor when he went to his own U.S. Bank - Columbia Heights branch, trying to cash his paycheck.

"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," Morrow said.

"The manager? He came over and said, 'Joe Morrow? Your check (is) fake.' And I said, what?" Morrow replied. "He said, 'You people always coming in here with fake checks.'"

Police subsequently responded to the bank and were with Morrow for over 45 minutes. In the footage, Morrow is heard saying he's innocent.

"I work there, bro," Morrow says to the branch manager. "And I'm going to report you too, bro. This is racial."

The police officer is then heard threatening him with arrest, even though Morrow didn't raise his voice.

"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," the officer says.

Morrow is then handcuffed after he stands up from a chair.

"I didn't threaten him. I got up, like, I'm mad," Morrow said. "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?"

The branch manager did not call Morrow's employer, United Natural Foods, Inc., to inquire if the check was real until police arrived and handcuffed Morrow. But after speaking with the company, he was able to verify that the check was good.

"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."

But over a year after, the head of the company apologized to the community.

U.S. Bank CEO Andy Cecere stated: "I am deeply sorry for where we failed and accept full responsibility...we are revisiting and expanding our employee training and guidance on how to work with customers in a more empathetic manner, recognizing the need to be culturally sensitive."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This channel posts videos of public officials, including police activity, past & present. It's goal is to highlight public servant abuses and overreach. This is NOT a "news" channel. I do not provide recent up to the minute reports with dates and locations. I do my best to provide as much information on the videos as I can, when possible. It isn't always possible nor needed. I simply wish to highlight the events themselves, regardless of other circumstances not relevant. You may already be familiar with the video and incident presented. If so, REMEMBER OTHERS MAY NOT HAVE SEEN IT, and seeing past incidences is important to make a proper determination as to whether public servant/police behavior is indeed out of hand. Making comments such as "old news" doesn't help anyone learn the truth. If it bores you, move along.

Information is power. Record public officials. Share what you know.


PLEASE NOTE: This video is for educational and training purposes and contains news worthy content meant to educate the public.