‘Black Panther’ director mistaken for bank robber after asking for 'discreet withdrawal'

Highly acclaimed Black Panther director Ryan Coogler was wrongly accused of attempting to stage a bank robbery by bank staffers in Atlanta, Georgia.

According to TMZ, who acquired a report from the Atlanta Police Department, Coogler was detained when he made a stop at a Bank of America to make a completely legal transaction in January.

Coogler was said to have walked in wearing sunglasses and a facemask, adhering to Covid-19 mandates.

He then handed the teller a withdrawal slip with a note on the back that allegedly read as follows: "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."

This is understandable given the amount of money requested.

However, the teller believed that something problematic was brewing, which led to police being called for an attempted robbery.

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Once the officers made it to the scene, they arrested two people waiting outside for Coogler in an SUV. Then they went inside and put the director in handcuffs.

With further investigation, TMZ continued to note that the police found the situation to be a huge mistake, and the fault lies with the Bank of America employee, who is said to be a pregnant Black woman.

The report said that when the woman went to make Coogler's requested transaction, the computer was triggered and made an alert of sorts.

And for that reason, she notified her boss that Coogler was attempting to rob the bank, and they called 911.

The outlet said that the director wasn't too happy about the situation. He asked for the badge numbers of the officers involved once everyone was released.

Coogler has been in Georgia for the past year filming the Black Panther sequel, which has had its own share of debacles with alleged anti-vaccination discourse and cast injuries on set.

Speaking with Indy100, a spokesperson for Bank of America said the following about the incident: "We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr Coogler."

Unfortunately, the director is not the first Black man with a respectable career to be mistaken for a criminal.

Georgia law enforcement officer David Conners sued Walmart after being detained and accused of being a serial shoplifter.

"I ain't never shoplift a day in my life. You got the wrong man," he said.

Indy100 reached out to Atlanta PD for comment.

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