In a surprising and unfortunate turn of events, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler was falsely accused of trying to rob the Bank of America when he only wanted to withdraw money from his own account.
As revealed on a body cam video footage, Coogler was mistaken as a bank robber, and detained by the Atlanta Police.
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Eventually, as he was freed from the handcuffs, Coogler said in the video,
“I stated to the officers that arrested me, that had their glocks out, that I was pulling money out of my own account.”
This incident led to the Bank of America issuing a public apology to Coogler. The bank was severely criticized over its incompetence.
What led to Black Panther director Ryan Coogler’s arrest?
While being at Georgia for the production work of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, sequel to the 2018 blockbuster Black Panther, Coogler got handcuffed and detained after he went to the Bank of America to withdraw money.
According to the Atlanta Police report, the director, wearing a hat, covid mask, and sunglass, went to the counter and handed the teller a note that said,
“I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account. Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.”
However, the teller got suspicious reading the note and misinterpreted the whole situation as robbery. Moreover, since the transaction exceeded $10,000, it led to an alert notification from Coogler’s account.
The teller then informed her manager and thinking calling the police would be ideal, she called 911. Four Atlanta PD officers arrived and detained two colleagues of Coogler, who were waiting for him outside the bank in the car with the engine running.
They let the police know Coogler’s identity and what he was wearing. Since this matched the description of the alleged robber as informed by the teller, the police thought him to be the robber.
The colleagues were then detained at the back of the police van and Coogler was handcuffed by two officers and taken out of the bank. While being held against the car, he was heard telling the police,
"If you run my name, you'll understand why you should take off these cuffs,"
While being on the backset of the police van, he also explained why he had to write that note, saying,
"If I don't write out on a note how much I want out, and that I don't want it ran through the money counter right at the desk, the whole bank ends up looking at me,"
Eventually, after verifying his identity and Bank of America account, the director was finally let go in a short while.
Bank of America issued a formal apology to Coogler
After the incident, Bank of America publicly apologized to Coogler. One of the representatives of the bank told CBS news,
“We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler."
Coogler was also not keen on holding on to this unfortunate incident. Through a representative the director told CBS News:
"This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on."
Besides the hugely successful Black Panther that became the first Marvel film to secure an Oscar nomination for best film, Coogler has also directed films like Creed (2015) and Fruitvale Station (2013).
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