He may have brought us one of the greatest Marvel film adaptions to date, but that didn’t stop Ryan Coogler from ending up in handcuffs over a false accusation. The director of Black Panther reportedly endured a harrowing experience in Atlanta that is said to have taken place back in January. Coogler has been hard at work in the ATL filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the sequel to the blockbuster hit starring the late-great Chadwick Boseman, and while in the city, Coogler visited a local Bank of America.
Like millions of others, Coogler wanted to make a transaction at the bank. In a video, he is seen wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask covering his nose and mouth for health safety. He reportedly approached the teller with a withdrawal slip along with a note attached 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.”
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It isn’t uncommon as many customers don’t want people to know how much money they have or cash they will hold on their person. Instead of reading the note, the teller believed that the bank was being robbed. She told her boss and they called the police, and when authorities arrived at the scene, they immediately detained Coogler and two people he was with who were reportedly waiting for him outside of the bank.
Variety reported:
Coogler’s colleagues were detained in the back of a police vehicle, and Coogler was handcuffed and taken out of the bank by two of the officers. After verifying Coogler’s identity and his Bank of America account, the officers released him and his colleagues.
“We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler,” Bank of America said in a statement. In his own reaction to the incident, Coogler added, “This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.”
Check out a video of the incident below.
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