A bank teller called 911 after Black Panther director Ryan Coogler walked into a Bank of America in Atlanta and passed her a handwritten note. He was wearing a green hoodie, a black knit cap, sunglasses and a white mask.
According to TMZ, the note 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."
The police report read: "The bank teller then received an alert notification from Mr. Coogler’s account and quickly advised her manager that suspect # 3 (Coogler) is attempting to rob the bank. 911 was alerted and responded."
Coogler had two friends who were waiting in a car in front of the bank with its engine running. When the police approached them, they said they were waiting for their friend, "who is making a money transaction inside of the bank and he is a movie producer." When they gave a description of Coogler and it "matched the description of the male suspect that is attempting to rob the Bank of America," they were asked to get out of the car, and were placed in the back of a police car.
Coogler soon exited the bank in handcuffs, escorted by two policemen. The police report went on to say, “It was determined later by Sgt. Fernandez that the incident is a mistake by Bank of America and that Mr. Coogler was never in the wrong and was immediately taken out of handcuff and that suspects # 1 and # 2 was [sic] taken out from the rear of the patrol vehicle."
A Bank of America spokesperson later said in a statement, "We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler."
Coogler replied in a statement, saying, "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 is currently in Atlanta filming the sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which will be released in theaters this November. ~Alexandra Heilbron
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