Black Panther director mistakenly detained by police
Washington DC — Ryan Coogler was detained by police recently after being mistaken for a bank robber.
the Black Panther director was in atlanta, attempting to withdraw Us$12 000 from his account with Bank of america.
the teller received an alert on his account, according to the police report obtained by CNN, because the amount was more than Us$10 000.
the teller notified her superior that she thought Coogler was trying to rob the bank and 911 was called.
Coogler had written a note on the back of his withdrawal slip stating that he wanted the money to be counted discreetly, given the amount, according to the report.
When police arrived, two of Coogler’s colleagues, who were waiting for him in a parked vehicle outside the bank, were detained and placed in the back of a police car.
Coogler was placed in handcuffs while police investigated the call. he was released shortly after they verified his identity, the police report states.
Director Ryan Coogler was wrongfully accused of robbing a branch of the Bank of america after requesting to withdraw Us$12 000 from bank account.
Police body camera footage of the incident emerged on Wednesday, published by local Fox 5 affiliate in atlanta and tMZ. in the video, Coogler looks stunned as a police officer asks the director to put his hands behind his back and another handcuffs him in front of the teller’s desk.
the officer standing behind Coogler briefly pulls his gun out of its holster. the footage also shows Coogler being escorted to an exit by police.
in separate footage, Coogler sits in the back of a police car and asks the officers to remove his sunglasses, saying that he felt like he was having a “panic attack” Coogler explains he was withdrawing money to pay a medical professional who works at his home and prefers to be paid in cash.
Body camera footage also shows Coogler outside in a parking lot describing what happened.
“i put my own card in, put my own pin in”. (the teller) asked to see my iD. i gave it to her and she goes in the back” he said,“next thing, i hear glocks getting pulled out.”
“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 said in a statement to Variety.
CNN has reached out to Coogler’s representative for comment.
“We deeply regret that this incident occurred. it never should have happened and we have apologised to Mr Coogler,” Bank of america said in a statement.