'Black Panther' Director Ryan Coogler Mistaken For Bank Robber

ATLANTA, GA — Bank of America employees in Buckhead thought “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler was trying to rob the branch when he tried to withdraw thousands of dollars in cash, Atlanta police said.

On the morning of Jan. 7, the director of “Fruitvale Station” and producer of “Creed” went into the Bank of America at 1280 Paces Ferry Road to take out cash, according to Atlanta Police and media reports.

Coogler, who is Black, has been in Atlanta filming the sequel to the Marvel Studios film, due out in November.

Reached by Patch Wednesday, Bank of America provided this statement: “We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened, and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”

Police reports say Coogler wrote a note on the back of the withdrawal slip asking the teller “to be discreet” with handing him the large sum of cash.

TMZ first reported the incident and provided even more detail.

“I would like to withdraw $12,000 cash from my checking account,” Coogler wrote on the withdrawal slip, according to TMZ. “Please do the money count somewhere else. I’d like to be discreet.”

A TMZ photo taken from bank video surveillance shows Coogler wearing a face mask, which is common as people attempt to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Police said the withdrawal request triggered an alert from the account which the teller showed to her manager, telling the supervisor that she suspected a robbery attempt.

Officers called to the bank first approached the Lexus SUV that Coogler arrived in and questioned the Black male driver and a female passenger of Asian descent waiting inside the vehicle, according to reports. Both were asked to step out of the vehicle and were placed into the back of separate police cars, according to the incident report.

Inside, officers handcuffed Coogler and led him out of the bank branch, police said.

It was only after police and bank workers were able to corroborate Coogler’s California ID and bank card with the account he attempted to make the withdrawal from that officers released him and his companions.

Police reports described the bank teller as a Black woman but did not identify the bank manager's race or gender.

Coogler requested badge numbers of all the officers involved, the report said.

"This situation should never have happened,” Coogler told TMZ. “However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on."