Colorado woman is suing banking giant JPMorgan for ‘racial discrimination’ after manager accused her of being rude and called the cops
A Colorado woman is suing banking giant JPMorgan after she claims to have been ‘racially discriminated’ against by a Chase Bank branch manager.
Jeanetta Vaughn, 61, filed a complaint to the District Court naming JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Trina Pelech as the defendants.
The 61-year-old was at the Chase Bank on Buckley Road in Aurora, Colorado, when she claims she was approached by Pelech.
Police bodycam footage and bank surveillance cameras obtained by kdvr show Vaughn sitting down on a chair before Pelech walks over to speak to her.
The June 9 2022 interaction led to Pelech calling two Aurora police officers to the branch claiming that Vaughn was trespassing.
A Colorado woman is suing banking giant JPMorgan after she claims to have been ‘racially discriminated’ against by a Chase Bank branch manager
The June 9 2022 interaction led to Pelech calling two Aurora police officers to the branch on Buckley Road claiming that Vaughn was trespassing
Footage shows Vaughn walking into the bank to get checks from a teller, she slowly walks in and sits down on a chair telling the outlet she was hoping to unlock her bank card.
Vaughn who is a former Government employee told kdvr that she locks her bank card because of her time in that career.
Pelech can then be seen walking over to Vaughn who claims she asked if she ‘needed anything.’
‘I told her ‘no, I’m unlocking my card on my phone and then I’m going to go up and do my business,” she explained.
The complaint claims that Pelech then said to Vaughn ‘you don’t have to be rude.’
Footage shows Vaughn walking into the bank to get checks from a teller, she slowly walks in and sits down on a chair telling the outlet she was hoping to unlock her bank card
Vaughn who is a former Government employee told kdvr that she locks her bank card because of her time in that career
‘She says, ‘well you’re not welcome here, I’m the branch manager, and you’re not welcome here,’ and I said, ‘what do you mean?” Vaughn claimed.
‘My money is here, my account is here, and she said ‘well you’re not welcome here and I’m going to call the police.”
Pelech has been accused of going into the back of the branch and calling 911 – an audio recording obtained by the outlet claimed she accused Vaughn of trespassing.
‘She says, ‘well you’re not welcome here, I’m the branch manager, and you’re not welcome here,’ and I said, ‘what do you mean?” Vaugh claimed
‘She told me to go away, she told me when she was ready she would come up and I don’t have to be giving her the 411, very rude,’ Pelech can be heard saying.
Officers promptly arrived on the scene and could be seen speaking with Vaughn and Pelech.
‘All she had to do was tell me what she was doing and not with the snarky attitude and threatening me with video,’ Pelech can be heard telling one responding officer.
Vaughn has been a member of Chase Bank since 2019 and was shocked by the way she was treated.
‘She didn’t seem to be a danger to me,’ one officer speaking to Pelech said in their interaction.
The bank has no signs posted to prohibit recording, Vaughn didn’t appear aggressive and ‘being rude’ isn’t a law enforcement matter, police could be heard saying on bodycam, according to the outlet.
‘All I could see was myself being handcuffed, dragged out, shot or something,’ Vaughn explained.
The long-time customer said that she then waited for her husband to arrive before leaving the bank.
‘This is something that has to stop. Whether it’s at a banking institution or a grocery store, movie theaters, no matter where you are — I have a right to be there,’ Vaughn, who was never charged with trespassing said.
‘She didn’t seem to be a danger to me,’ one officer speaking to Pelech said in their interaction
The long-time customer said that she then waited for her husband to arrive before leaving the bank
Vaughn was seen exiting the bank after the interaction
The complaint also alleged that since September 2021 there have been four discrimination complaints made at the same branch location.
‘There is a reason our country witnessed actions like the Woolworth sit-ins during the civil rights era,’ said Iris Halpern, Vaughn’s attorney.
‘True equality requires the same access to goods and services for everyone.
‘That is why we have laws in this country that protect against racial discrimination in the restaurant, the movie theater, the gym and the bank.’
Halpern added that ‘Police and the power they wield should not be exploited as a means to exclude people of color from fully participating in society.’
A spokesperson briefly told kdvr ‘We disagree with the allegation. That’s the only comment we have.’ It remains unclear if Pelech still works at the bank.
DailyMail.com has contacted Pelech, Vaugh and JPMorgan for comment.
To view the article in it’s entirety, visit www.dailymail.co.uk.