After attempting to withdraw money from his bank account, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler was mistaken for a bank robber and handcuffed. After TMZ originally reported on the event in January, Coogler confirmed it to Variety.
The 35 year old approached the counter in an attempt to withdraw $12,000 from his Bank of America account in a stealthy manner, prompting the teller raise an alarm, believing he was attempting a robbery.
According to the article, Coogler had put a note on the back of his withdrawal form saying that he wanted the money tallied discreetly, considering the quantity.
“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.”
“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 TMZ after the news became public.
It’s still unknown why he required the money or why he was transported there in an SUV by two others.
Prior to the worldwide smash Black Panther, which was released in 2018, Coogler helmed the Rocky spin-off Creed in 2015, which starred Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, and his directorial debut Fruitvale Station, which had Jordan in the main role and was based on a true story.
Police came on the scene and apprehended two persons who were waiting for Coogler outside the bank in an SUV, according to the police incident report seen by Newsweek. Handcuffs were also placed on Coogler.
According to the article, Coogler was enraged by the error and wanted the badge numbers of the officers involved.
When it was discovered that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding, all parties were freed without prosecution.
A Bank of America spokesman told DailyMail: ‘We deeply regret that this incident occurred.
‘It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.’
The 35-year-old is presently shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in Atlanta, with the film slated to hit theaters on November 11th.
Coogler has been a vocal opponent of racial policing since his rise to fame in Hollywood. He co-produced Judas and the Black Messiah, a movie about Fred Hampton’s murder by the FBI in the late 1960s, in 2021. Following the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, he was also active in organising store demonstrations.
