A Raleigh bank is responding after a woman said she was offended by a “racist” figurine on a bank employee’s desk.
Stacey Smith wrote a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, saying she was halfway through a transaction at the State Employee’s Credit Union on Louisburg Road when she noticed “a black doll with a noose around its neck and hands tied between its back” on the employee’s desk.
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Smith said that, when the transaction was complete, she asked “what did that doll mean, with the noose around the neck,” to which the employee replied that he collected the figurines.
The figurine with a silver chain around its neck is based on character from “The Walking Dead,” known as Michonne’s Pet Walker, and is part of the Funko Pop mystery mini line, according to listings for a similar item on Ebay. The mystery minis are packaged in small boxes and customers do not know what character is inside until they open the box.
Smith’s post said she told the employee that the figurine offended her and, when he asked how she was offended, she “walked out of his office and went straight to the receptionist and asked for his boss,” the Facebook post said.
Smiths post had been shared more than 7,200 times and had more than 3,000 comments as of Wednesday night.
In his own Facebook post, the employee responded saying, “I have officially been accused of racism for my choice of desk toy. Apparently a story about a strong female character of color and overcoming adversity is offensive.”
The SECU issued the following statement regarding the incident Wednesday afternoon:
“State Employees’ Credit Union prides itself on the fair and equitable treatment it provides its members, and takes its members’ privacy seriously. Yesterday, the actions of one of our employees fell far short of our expectations and we took immediate steps to address this personnel matter.”
Bank officials did not say if the employee was disciplined as a result of the incident.