Ryan Coogler was detained by police back in January after Bank of America suspected theft. The Creed director was in Atlanta, filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, attempting to withdraw $12,000 from his account with Bank of America. Wearing a face mask and sunglasses, Coogler passed a note to the teller, asking for his withdrawal to be counted discreetly, given the large amount. The teller then received an alert on his account because the amount was over $10,000. She notified her supervisor, suspecting that he was trying to rob the bank, and called 911. When the police arrived, they detained two of his colleagues who were waiting in a parked car outside the bank. Coogler was placed in handcuffs while they investigated the call. They verified his identity, and he was released shortly after the police report states.
“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.
Bank of America also released a statement to CNN: “We deeply regret that this incident occurred. It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to release in November.
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