Tuesday Topic: Banks and Masks

I sympathize with the bank, and wonder if the employee was acting out of fear of not following bank policy.  We have had people who didn't want to wear masks, but we don't push too hard since we don't want a scene like the above.  Some people who insist on claiming their "rights" conveniently forget that other people have rights too.  The woman was unreasonable and was wrong.  The bank did what it had a right to do, but I think it should have handled it differently for the sake of everyone involved.  I also think that people who resist an officer who is just doing his/her job deserve whatever reasonable consequences that they get.

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Mary Fowler
Chief Executive Officer
The Peoples Bank
Magnolia, AR
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-15-2021 19:13
From: Barb Rehm
Subject: Tuesday Topic: Banks and Masks

A vacationer in Galveston, Texas, entered a Bank of America branch to make a withdrawal. The 65-year-old woman refused to wear a mask and a bank employee asked her to leave. The police were called, and an officer explained that the bank had a right to require mask wearing and told the woman to put on a mask or leave the building. (The state of Texas had just lifted its mask mandate.) She resisted the officer's attempts to escort her out of the building, was forced to the ground and hand-cuffed and put in a police vehicle and eventually taken to a hospital for an injury to her foot. A warrant for her arrest has been issued. The story and the video went viral.

What do you think of this encounter? Did the bank employee handle the situation correctly? How about the police officer? Have you had anything like this happen at one of your branches?

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Barb Rehm
Senior Managing Director
IntraFi Network
Arlington VA
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