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FYI: The director for Marvel's Black Panther is not a bank robber.
Ryan Coogler, who directed the superhero film, was accused of trying to rob a Bank of America branch in Atlanta after the bank teller misinterpreted Coogler's request to withdraw funds discreetly.
Coogler was wearing sunglasses, a hat and a facial covering in accordance with the bank's mask mandate.
He handed the teller a withdrawal slip that read:
"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."
Bank staffers mistakenly thought \u201cBlack Panther\u201d director Ryan Coogler was staging a robbery \u2013 so they called cops, and he actually ended up in handcuffshttps://www.tmz.com/2022/03/09/black-panther-director-ryan-coogler-mistakenly-cuffed-bank-robbery\u00a0\u2026— philip lewis (@philip lewis) 1646834533
Despite Coogler's reasonable request for caution with a large sum from his own account, the teller's instinct was to notify her boss of an attempted bank robbery.
An alert was triggered when the teller went to process the transaction on a computer.
That was when she apprised her boss of her suspicions and they called the police.
Footage of the interaction was shared on Twitter:
TAKE A LOOK: This is Atlanta Police body camera footage of Black Panther Director Ryan Coogler being arrested inside a bank after he was mistaken for a bank robber by the teller. He was trying to get money from his own account. You can see an officer pull a gun.@FOX5Atlantapic.twitter.com/T8MjJkEqDb— Eric Perry (@Eric Perry) 1646862443
How many times have y\u2019all witnessed a bank robbery ? and they wrote a note ? & they didn\u2019t use a gun? \n\nHe was not the dummy here, she was. \n\nHe has on masks per COVID.. \ndiscretion because he\u2019s famous & was planning to have a large amount of cash on him.— \u2728 Billionaire Bella \u2728 Marie (@\u2728 Billionaire Bella \u2728 Marie) 1646843618
Teller probably didn\u2019t read the note fully. They probably saw the amount and be discreet and freaked out.\n\nHad he just told her rather than doing a note, there probably wouldn\u2019t have been an issue. \n\nPeople take out amounts like that every day and request discretion— ThatDudeCurtis (@ThatDudeCurtis) 1646840261
You can watch a news report, here.
Responding officers arrived at the scene and proceeded to handcuff Coogler.
According to a TMZ report, an investigation determined the 35-year-old filmmaker was innocent and the fault lay with the bank teller.
Coogler was understandably upset over the incident and allegedly asked for the badge numbers of the cops involved in his wrongful arrest.
Some people thought fault lay with both parties.
This whole thing was a mess, his note, teller panic,cop calling. I understand why he didn't want customers witnessing a large withdrawal,so,like many people with large or other banking situations, go to the bank manager to have a large transaction handled privately-no note needed— Ms.Ang\u269c\ufe0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8(Community Advocate & Nat'l Volunteer) (@Ms.Ang\u269c\ufe0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8(Community Advocate & Nat'l Volunteer)) 1646836282
Generally, if I'm taking out 5-figure sums, I called ahead so that they would have the cash ready, then they counted it twice with the machine, then handed me the envelope and gave me a private room to count it myself. \nStill, don't call the fucking cops.— Arolpin (@Arolpin) 1646860853
A Bank of America spokesperson has since apologized to Coolger.
They issued a statement obtained by Variety, which read:
“We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”
Coogler told the media outlet:
“This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.”
The director had been in Georgia filming the sequel for Black Panther, which became the highest-grossing film of all time by a Black film director after its release in 2018.
The Black Panther sequel was already beset with numerous issues since filming started last year–including a delay in production after an on set injury and crew and cast members testing positive for COVID-19.