Monday, September 10, 2007 , Updated
Frisco Wells Fargo mistakes customer for a bank robber
A man from Little Elm, Derrill Ewans, visits a Wells Fargo bank in Frisco in order to get a car loan. After carrying on as a normal human would with the loan officers, a bank teller observing the activities decides that he looks suspicious and calls the police. The teller calls the police a second time to report that Ewans had a gun. After police swarmed the bank, in addition to handcuffing his girlfriend who was waiting outside in the car with their three-year-old daughter, they took Ewans and made him lie down on the pavement while they held guns on him. After finally allowing him to sit up and holding him for 30 minutes, they realized that he did not have a gun on him, much less a desire to do anything in the bank but get a car loan.
In the linked article, the police assert that the way they responded was reasonable. Sure. Of course. My question is how did the teller twice mistake a regular man for a gun-wielding bank robber? Maybe we shouldn't necessarily jump to conclusions, but if you watch the accompanying WFAA video you might see an altogether sad excuse for this debacle.
Posted by Erin
Michael Davis, says:
Nice work, idiots.
Who the heck made the 911 call?
I'm glad I have no money in that bank.
MD... Glad to be a City boy.
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stevemiller, says:
I'm not sure what to make of this. Normally when I read this kind of story, I just say "What do you expect, it's Florida." But this one happened in Texas. Maybe it's a southern thing.
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James Scott, says:
How humiliating and terrifying for that poor guy and his family...why did it take them 30 minutes to figure out he didn't have a gun??? I generally try to give the police the benefit of doubt, but this incident including other recent ones is souring my opinion.
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kirk, says:
It's remarkable that this would happen in a city where the high school team is still called the Fighting Raccoons. Oh, and that the "suspect" was African American. Frisco's population is more than 87% White, and less than 4% African American.
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Scott Doyle, says:
Makes me wonder if the teller who called it in knew him or not...
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lakewooder, says:
Good Lord. And people want their kids to grow up in Frisco and turn out like this?
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James Scott, says:
I'm usually out on bringing the whole race-issue into most stories (most recently the Vick and Wilson/Owens media discrepancy)...but in this case, I think it's pretty hard not to.
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