TAMPA - (AP) — Wal-Mart has apologized to a black man who was accused of trying to pass a bad check as he was buying thousands of dollars in holiday gift cards to distribute to his company’s employees.

Employees of a Wal-Mart Supercenter called deputies last week to apprehend Reginald Pitts after he handed over a check for $13,600 to pay for 520 gift cards that were to be given to employees at GAF Materials Corp., a roofing materials manufacturer where Pitts is a human resources manager.

The company, which had $1.6 billion in revenue last year, had been spending about $50,000 a year on Wal-Mart gift cards and never had a problem when it sent a white employee to pick them up.

”I keep going over and over the incident in my mind,” Pitts told The St. Petersburg Times. “I cannot come up with any possible reason why I was treated like this except that I am black.”

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., has launched an internal investigation of the incident and apologized to Pitts.

”We probably could have handled it better, but I won’t know until we complete the investigation,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said Friday.

“Our company is built upon respect for the individual, and we have no tolerance for discrimination of any type.”

Pitts said that when he went to the store last week to pick up the already-printed cards, store managers stalled for about two hours after he handed over the check while he stood waiting by the customer service desk.

He had handed over his GAF business card, his driver’s license and the toll-free numbers to GAF’s bank. His accounting supervisor assured them over the phone that GAF was good for the check.

Later, two Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies appeared. One grabbed Pitts by the arm. He objected to the rough handling and asked if he was being arrested.

”We need to talk with you about this forged check that you brought in here,” Pitts recalled one deputy saying.

The deputy said later that Wal-Mart had called and reported that Pitts had committed a felony.

A short time later, deputies determined there were no grounds for a criminal charge and that Wal-Mart would not press the issue further.

Pitts’ company has lodged a formal complaint with Wal-Mart.

”We are very concerned about the way Mr. Pitts was treated by Wal-Mart,” said Patricia Kim, GAF vice president of employment and labor. “We are awaiting Wal-Mart’s response.”

So far, four Wal-Mart officials have called Pitts and apologized for the incident. But no one from the Hillsborough County store did, and nobody from the company has explained what happened.