A video went viral after a Black man had the police called on him while waiting in the parking lot of a Chase Bank in Tampa, Florida.
The man filmed himself being approached by a Tampa police officer who told him the bank employees had called due to concern of a man parked outside and drinking alcohol, when in fact the man was drinking a red bull.
In the video, he told the officer that he was waiting for the bank to open at 9 a.m. just like the other person who was waiting in the lot.
“On May 6, 2026, shortly before 8:30 a.m., the Tampa Police Department responded to the 4600 block of West Kennedy Boulevard after receiving a call of a suspicious vehicle parked in front of the bank before they opened,” the Tampa Police Department told The Brandon Gonez Show in a statement. “An officer talked with the occupant of the car who said he was waiting for the business to open. That information was then shared with the bank employees.”
In defense, the man explained he had money to withdraw and told the officer that he has multiple Airbnb properties when asked what he does for work.
This surely causes people to think that this indeed is another case of racial profiling.
“They [the employees] were just coming by, and then they were like, kind of looking like ‘what is a Black guy doing sitting here in front of a bank’ “ the man said in the video.
The man also proceeded to tell the police officer that there is a lot of prejudice in Tampa.
This video now has 2.5 million views online and has people outraged and voicing their anger on how the police went about this incident and their anger towards the bank.
Many are saying that the man shouldn’t have been questioned so much and that the man offered too much information to the officer.
American civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump reposted the video on social media to his 905,000 followers, stating in the caption, “Banking while Black should never trigger fear, suspicion, or a police response!”
The Brandon Gonez Show also reached out to Chase Bank for a statement on the incident.
“We are aware of the interaction at one of our Tampa-area branches as employees were arriving to work. We are committed to treating all of our customers fairly and with respect and are reviewing what occurred to ensure our actions aligned with that commitment. We sincerely apologize to our customer.” said a Chase Bank spokesperson.
What began as a man patiently waiting for a bank to open, has now sadly become yet another wider conversation about racial profiling and discrimination.
