‘You Cannot Open an Account Here’: Black Man Sues Commerce Bank After White Employee Calls Police When He Tried Opening Business Account

A Black man trying to open two business amounts at the bank he had already been banking with in Missouri ended up falsely accused of fraud and having the cops called on him — the latest example of “banking while Black.” Now Michael Waller, 64, is suing Commerce Bank, accusing the bank of racism and retaliation based on the color of his skin. According to the lawsuit filed last month, Waller entered a Commerce Bank branch in Overland Park, a municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area, on June 20, 2023, to open the two business accounts but was told by a white bank employee he needed more paperwork. Michael Waller, left, has filed a lawsuit against Commerce Bank after he visited the branch in Overland Park, Missouri, (right), and had the cops called on him simply because he was trying to open a pair of business accounts. (Photos: Facebook and Google Earth) Waller returned the following day with more paperwork, but the same bank employee again told him he needed more paperwork, so he returned again on June 27 with the additional paperwork. But the same white bank employee still refused to open his accounts, demanding to know why...