Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther, was mistaken for a bank robber and briefly detained by police in Atlanta, Georgia in January, a police report filed on Wednesday stated.
Coogler was in the state to film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the sequel to his 2018 blockbuster, at the time of the incident.
Confirming the news, Coogler told Variety, “This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America (the bank where the incident occurred) worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.”
According to the report, the filmmaker was detained and handcuffed when he went to Bank of America to withdraw some cash on January 7. Coogler was wearing black sunglasses, a hat, and a mask when he appeared in front of a teller at the bank. He handed over the withdrawal slip with a note, which reportedly 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.”
However, the withdrawal amount being greater than $10,000 triggered an alert notification from the director’s account and the teller misunderstood the situation and reported it as an robbery attempt to her boss. The bank officials called the Atlanta police, who, upon arrival, detained two of Coogler’s colleagues, who were waiting for him outside the bank in a car with the engine running. The police then handcuffed the director and brought him out of the bank.
Recommended
But, after confirming Coogler’s identity and his Bank of America account, the officers released him and his colleagues.
Regarding the mix-up, a Bank of America spokesperson told Variety, “We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologised to Mr Coogler.”
As per bodycam footage of the incident, obtained by TMZ, it took about 10 to 15 minutes for the police officers to sort out the confusion and uncuff the filmmaker.