A New York bank is under fire for allegedly kidnapping and arresting customers who wanted to close their bank accounts.
More than 20 people were taken into custody Saturday at the Citibank branch at 555 La Guardia Place in New York.
Members of the Occupy Wall Street/Global Day of Protest threatened to close their accounts as a form of protest.
Bank officials asked the group to leave, then locked them inside the bank and had them arrested, said several eyewitnesses at the scene.
A female customer, who was standing outside the bank, was manhandled by a group of NYC cops, forced inside the bank, and arrested.
Of course Citibank has their own version of what happened.
"A large amount of protesters entered our branch at 555 La Guardia Place around 2:00 PM today. They were very disruptive and refused to leave after being repeatedly asked, causing our staff to call 911.
The Police asked the branch staff to close the branch until the protesters could be removed. Only one person asked to close an account and was accommodated.
To be clear: no one was arrested for closing an account; we didn’t lock people in our branch – the police decided to close the branch; and we didn’t ask for anyone to be arrested - that is a police decision," said Citibank.
When something happens in a bank, I'm pretty sure it is policy to lock the doors. Also, if they are being held while waiting for police, that does not seem like kidnapping to me. People caught shoplifting can be held until police arrive. I think this is a similar situation.
ReplyDeleteAlso, isn't it illegal to encourage a bank run? These protesters have been trying to organize bank runs since OWS began. I assume this incident was part of that plan. Luckily, the banks won't be hurt much when the hipsters take their $17 out...
When was the last time a bank robber was locked inside a bank? How about never! If they really thought they were a threat, they NEVER would have locked the doors! And since when is closing a bank account the same as shoplifting?!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo, a bank run is not illegal. Banks are allowed, however, to close when they suspect a run, and then reopen after cooler heads prevail. Did you know that the biggest cause of the great depression was the run on the banks? So, OWS might not really want what they are suggesting. I, personally, would not like to stand in a soup line. :)
ReplyDeleteI think a few things are in play here. I worked in retail street level banks like that for over ten years, including four here at a very large, national HQ branch in Chicago. One time, we had a group of like 50 or so Greenpeace protesters come in all at once. They milled around the lobby areas for a few moments until one of them shouted, then most of them dropped to the ground like they were dead, several unfurled a large banner, one jumped on a desk & starting shouting the environmental protest, & a couple of them filmed him & the reaction of employees & customers.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, a tactic like storming a bank & starting a big ruckus is unwise at best. The employees, who are constantly bombarded with trainings & warnings about hold ups, don't know what is going on. Customers were scared, some went running from teller stations with their business unfinished, because who knows? Maybe this is about to be a suicide bombing. And likely, this bank in NY had a right to believe it was being hostiley taken over, and to shut down until police could arrive & assess the situation.
Anyway, all the tellers quickly locked up & went into a secured location, and all the employees & customers got near doors in case something happened. After about 5 minutes of this, the speech was done & everybody just stood around. Eventually, the police showed, the and started to speak with the protest & branch manager. The manager decided not to have charges pressed against the people who just pretended they were dead on the floor, but the guy who jumped on the desk to speak & the people who filmed were arrested, and basically, the protesters looked like a bunch of idiots. Though a couple of 20 y/o pseudo hippy chicks started crying when the leader was cuffed, before the others were told what was going to happen!
The point is, don't storm a bank en masse & start some type of group action. The bank has no idea what's going on, and the employees & customers are just trying to live their lives. You don't need a group of 2 dozen to show up at once to close checking accounts - can easily do it online or on the phone.
Second point is, look at the ages of the protesters & the woman filming. They are all young, most likely under 25 y/o. The old lady filmed outside of the branch clearly has no idea what's happening, she's obviously not with that group. People who are that young just don't have a grasp on reality, and don't understand that a world actually exists in which people have responsibilities. As a general rule, they just don’t have as much experience as older people do. As much fun as it is to group up & shout & confront the cops when you have 10x their numbers, there are much more adult & effective ways to shake up the establishment.
Tiwddledee: In my opinion, you are spot on. It's great to see someone agrees with my view on these issues. I'm only 21 so it seems like most of my peers just want to group up and shout and be angry, but it all seems very illogical to me.
ReplyDelete