Ryan Coogler, the director of one of the greatest box office attractions in the history of American motion pictures with Black Panther, was mistaken for a bank robber and detained by police.
The media has just learned that earlier this year, Coogler stopped off at a Bank of America branch in Atlanta. He was in the city filming the sequel to the blockbuster Marvel comic film that is scheduled to drop around Thanksgiving 2022.
According to surveillance cameras recorded by the bank and obtained by police and TMZ, Coogler walked into the bank with very casual attire: a lime-colored hoodie, a black skullcap, black sunglasses and a white mask to protect him from COVID-19.
The police report states that Coogler handed the bank teller a handwritten note on Jan. 18, 2022. The teller was described, for whatever reason, as a Black pregnant female.
Coogler’s note read: “I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account,” reads the note, according to the entertainment publication. “Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.”
The bank teller thought that Coogler, who was unrecognizable because of the hat, sunglasses and mask, was trying to stage a bank robbery. And when she went to check on the account and it was flagged, she dialed 911.
Not knowing that the attempted transaction was legitimate, coupled with the fact that the responding officer from the Atlanta Police Department did not know the identity of the supposed robber, the cop immediately detained and handcuffed Coogler.
Not long thereafter, however, Coogler’s identity was confirmed. In the police report, it stated that the incident was “a mistake by Bank Of America and that Mr. Coogler was never in the wrong,” noting that the filmmaker was “immediately taken out of handcuff.”
A Bank of America spokesperson was contrite when speaking with Page Six on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. “We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”
Coogler reportedly has dismissed the mistaken identity and has moved on after he and the bank came to an agreement.
“This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on,” Coogler told Page Six.
