Award-Winning "Black Panther" Director, Ryan Coogler, Mistaken for a Bank Robber in Atlanta!
This story is so bizarre that we actually had to pause before we published it! Award-winning director, Ryan Coogler, was handcuffed at a bank in Atlanta because an employee thought he was trying t rob them!
Here's how things went down. Coogler entered the Bank of America wearing a hat, sunglasses, hoodie and what appeared to be a KN95 mask.
Now listen, I know what it's like to not want to be noticed while doing every day tasks so, I get his clothing choices. He actually doesn't look any different from any other person on the street who's going on about their day.
Here's where things got a little interesting though. Coogler allegedly handed the teller a not that 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 note was handwritten and DOES NOT imply that Coogler wanted money that wasn't HIS!
This amount couldn't have been withdrawn through the drive through so, we understand why he wanted the teller to count the money privately. Who wants to risk getting knocked over the head after leaving the bank?
The bank teller thought Coogler was being suspicious so they alerted the authorities. Within minutes the police arrived and detained two people who were outside waiting in Coogler's SUV. Then, they entered the bank and put Coogler in cuffs.
TMZ reports that after an investigation, the police say this was all just a huge mistake ... and the fault lies with the BoA employee, who's described in the report as a pregnant Black woman.
According to the report, when the teller went to make the transaction on her computer, it triggered some sort of an alert. So, she told her boss Coogler was attempting to rob the bank, and they called 911.
The police say that it was all a misunderstanding and no charges would be filed against Coogler. You'd think that would be the end of everything right? Wrong. Coogler, who lives in California but has been in Atlanta for a year filming the sequel to "Black Panther", reportedly asked for the names and badge numbers of every police officer involved.
In an interview this morning Coogler said "This situation should never have happened. However, Bank of America worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on."
This could have been worse but we're grateful
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