Imagine you go to a KIA dealership, all right? You had a KIA dealership, you get the police called on you. They are breaking their own policies doing so because you happen to have a cashier's check. [00:00:15] Put up the picture full mass, this is a hell of a story, Illinois. A woman named Sade Crocket is fighting back after being wrongfully accused and arrested of using a fraudulent check, it was never fraudulent. [00:00:35] Crocket is filing for racial discrimination against McGrath Kia of Highland park. According to court documents, Crockett's attorneys and the Atlanta Black Star report, quote, Crockett and her uncle first went to [00:00:51] the fifth-third bank in Chytown in Chicago and obtained a cashier's check. This is all very normative from Grave's account, which was legitimate and intended as a birthday gift to his niece. The duo explained to the tellers that they intended to purchase a vehicle [00:01:10] with the cashier's check. And even called the dealership from the bank to ensure a cashier's check would be proper payment for the intended purchase. The dealership also advised Miss Crockett that she would not need to bring her [00:01:27] uncle with her to make the purchase. And she dropped him off at home before heading to the dealership. Let's put up the dealership. I want to remind everyone that this is one of those transactions where you have made communication with the actual dealership. [00:01:45] The dealership is involved with the communication via the bank and protocol, and they have informed Ms Crockett. We are able to accept the cashier's check. It works like cash, we're able to accept it. You do not have to bring your uncle in order to complete the transaction. [00:02:06] Everything is above board, they have met every protocol established. Ms Crockett says she felt unwelcomed walking into the dealership, however, especially by the entirely white staff. After test driving a 2021, Chevy Blazer, [00:02:21] Crockett decided she'd like to purchase the vehicle. Quote, when the dealership called Fifth-Third bank to verify the check, they failed. They failed to call the same branch, okay? [00:02:37] They failed to call the same branch, and they were told the check was likely fraudulent. Without adequate investigation, without any due diligence by the bank, the dealership decides to call 911. [00:02:54] So they do no due diligence, bank does no due diligence. They immediately call 911 on this black woman, okay? Everything is legit, it's a gift. It's a gift, and obviously a gift that was well received and [00:03:10] appreciated from a family member, okay, there's more. The dealership then called 911 and asked for the Highland Park Police Department without bothering to call the correct branch where the check was drawn. Ms Crockett was arrested despite her pleas to explain what happened. [00:03:32] So let me get into the lawsuit. McGrath Kia deviated from his own policy and practice to return checks to customers and decline the sale. [00:03:48] That is their policy, you do not call 9110 customers with Kia. You're supposed to return the check and say, we declined the sale, all right? When the validity of a check may be in question, McGrath Kia deviated from this policy and practice based solely upon Ms Crockett's race and [00:04:07] instead called the police to have Crockett be arrested. Ms Crockett was told she was not a customer of the bank and that she could not verify the check because the computers were down. [00:04:23] Officers allegedly replied that, quote, people from those neighborhoods, end quote, were probably using Crockett as a tool to purchase the vehicle with a fraudulent check. All right, keep that picture up. [00:04:38] I want you to understand, they have created an entire false narrative about a human being who is trying to spend money with them. They have concluded that she's from a particular community, [00:04:54] that she has a particular conspiracy going on from that community, that she is likely part of the system of criminality from that community. And obviously, well, we're not going to bother to call anybody else at the bank, [00:05:10] check is just fraudulent, let's call 911. So Ms Crockett was arrested, charged with felony forgery, obviously it brought her to tears. She ended up having a nervous breakdown. She was not vindicated until several months later on July 18th, [00:05:28] when the Lake county state's attorney's office finally determined that a check was not fraudulent, no crime had been committed, and all of the charges were immediately dropped. Quote, sorry took so long, Crockett was told by prosecutors in a statement by Crockett's attorneys. [00:05:47] Racial profiling in our community needs to stop. Our client has suffered extreme emotional distress from the incident and has been unable to find gainful employment due to media headlines. With both her name and her image still visible on the Internet today, [00:06:07] Ms Crockett needs justice and she deserves to be treated with both dignity and respect. McGrath Kia has yet to publicly comment on the incident. So they are now being cowards, feckless cowards after they've [00:06:25] made this extreme mistake and turned this woman's life upside down. I'll put her picture up one more time because I wanna say something directly. This woman is not a criminal, this woman did nothing illegal. This woman is an upstanding citizen of your society, and [00:06:43] you are lucky to have her there, period. All right, hell of a thing, I guarantee you, if this was anyone else, we would engage in checks and balances, trying to confirm. And then at the end of the day, if you couldn't confirm the check, [00:06:59] you hand the check back and say, unfortunately, we're unable to verify and we cannot do business with you per the policy of Kia. Kia, why did you violate your own policy for her, why did you do that? All right, Ricky, thoughts? >> Speaker 2: Yeah, Dr Ricky, thank you for doing that for her, giving her some vindication to that. [00:07:18] That whole dealership should be fired. Not one more African-American or anybody of color should walk into that dealership and buy anything, and why can't we have money? Why can't we have a cashier check, you know what I'm saying? We talk all the time, Dr Richie, and we get that look. [00:07:35] Sitting first class on the plane, what do you do? You must be a rapper or basketball player. It burns me up, and I asked him, I said, what did you do, how did you make it the first? [00:07:52] Now we have added to the list. Buying a car while black, purchasing while black, sitting in Starbucks while black. You can't do anything, living while black, existing while black. And it's just the prejudice, the racism and the prejudice right here in 2023. [00:08:11] Uncle worked his butt off to give her a gift or whatever, no matter where it came from. It's any of your business. If they were doing anything legal, that's between them and the police department, and for them to weaponize the police department to do that to her, she will be traumatized for the rest of her life. [00:08:28] That dealership should be paying for her therapy, attorney fees, sued and everything else. And they should have gave Kia to her and the uncle for free and with an apology. It's sad and stuff like that burns me up because I have a mother and [00:08:45] have a sister and I have daughters, and that's terrible. >> Speaker 1: Horrible, and for those who may push back Ricky and say in the comment section, well, it may not have been about race, let me say this. Find me where this happens routinely to white women, white men. [00:09:04] Find those stories, send them to me, all right? I'll be happy to cover them.