‘Black Panther’ Director Ryan Coogler Was Mistaken For A Bank Robber And Handcuffed: ‘This Situation Should Never Have Happened!’

Yahoo.com, By Jason Guerrasio-INSIDER, Posted March 25th 2022

• Back in January, Coogler tried to withdraw money from his Bank of America account, says a police report.
• The “Black Panther” director wrote on a withdrawal slip that he wanted “to withdraw $12,000 cash.”
• The teller thought he was trying to rob the bank.

“Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler was mistaken for a bank robber back in January at a Bank of America in Atlanta, according to a police report obtained by Insider.

TMZ was the first to report what happened to Coogler, who’s currently in Atlanta shooting the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster film, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.“

The filmmaker confirmed the incident to Insider, saying in a statement: “This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.”

According to TMZ, Coogler — who came to the teller window wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a white face mask — handed the employee 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.”

On January 7, the teller — a pregnant Black woman, according to the police report — thought it was an attempted robbery, and Atlanta police were called.

According to the police report, the officer came to the bank and saw a black SUV Lexus parked at the front of the bank with its engine running. The officer approached the vehicle and found a Black male in the driver’s seat and an Asian female in the passenger seat.

After questioning the two, the officer was told the two unidentified passengers were waiting for Coogler, a “movie producer,” who was in the bank. The two gave the officer a description of him, and the officer put the two in the back of separate police cars uncuffed.

The officer then brought Coogler out of the bank in handcuffs, according to the police report.

Here’s police camera footage obtained by TMZ:

After questioning Coogler and the bank teller, the police report details that the employee told the officer that along with the withdrawal slip, the famed director also gave her his California license and Bank of America card.

Coogler and his associates were eventually let go.

In a statement to Insider, Bank of America apologized for the incident.

“We deeply regret that this incident occurred,” Bill Halldin, media relations for Bank of America, said. “It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”