Ryan Coogler – the director of Black Panther was mistaken as a bank robber by the staff of Bank of America. He was reportedly detained by the police back in January in Atlanta.
Ryan Coogler confirmed this incident himself. He stated “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 the report of Atlanta police, Ryan Coogler was handcuffed and detained while he went to Bank of America to make a necessary transaction back in the month of January.
The 35-year-old director was unrecognizable under a Covid-19 mask, sunglasses, and a hat. He went to the reception area and asked the staff member to withdraw a payment with a note written saying “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.”
The staff member misinterpreted the whole situation and mistook Coogler as a robber who was attempting a robbery while trying to withdraw an amount exceeding $10,000. This triggered an alert and he notified the bank’s security.
According to the details, four police officers from Atlanta police arrived at the bank and detained colleagues of Coogler who were waiting outside in a car keeping the engine running.
The colleagues informed the policemen that Coogler was a renowned Hollywood director and also told them his description. The description matched the man who was suspected of a bank robbery as alerted by the bank staff.
The colleagues of Ryan Coogler were detained outside the bank and were taken into custody whereas Coogler was handcuffed and was taken out from the bank.
The officers, later on, released Ryan Coogler and his two colleagues after the identity was released.
A spokesperson of Bank of America stated “We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”
Ryan Coogler was in Atlanta shooting for the sequel of his movie Black Panther, titled “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The movie is all set to be released in November of 2022.
After the Black Lives Matter movement got renewed momentum, these cases of racism have rapidly increased instead of decreasing. There has been high scrutiny of such incidents across the country but now they get more highlighted than before thanks to the new empowerment of black people and community which they regained after the Black Lives Matter movement.
