Ryan Coogler, director of “Black Panther” and “Creed”, was mistaken as a bank robber in Atlanta, Georgia. To be more exact, Coogler was at a Bank of America location in the ritzy “Buckhead” section of the city. Coogler says he was in town filming the sequel to Black Panther entitled “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”. He decided to stop by his bank to withdraw $12,000 in cash. The method and manner in which he approached this situation, however, didn’t go over well with the bank teller and the police were called.
Video from the January incident is just now being released two months later and the media are spinning obvious narratives that probably are not true. The first narrative is the whole “banking while black” issue. Several leftist media types are trying to blame Coogler’s brief detainment on racism. The reality is that the teller who alerted the bank was a pregnant black woman and the arresting officers were all black males. Everyone involved in this situation was black. So if there’s racism here, it’s going to be difficult to find it, let alone prove it.
Coogler was in the bank with what essentially amounts to a disguise covering his face. He had on an N95-type mask, dark sunglasses, and a hat. He did, however, provide his identification, bank card, and bank PIN number. Everything matched up with his account aside from the “disguise”. But the problem is that he wrote instructions on a withdrawal slip and slid it to the bank teller. The note asked the teller to withdraw the money from his account in a discreet fashion. The first red flag to the teller would be the handwritten note even beyond all of the attempts to conceal his face. Buckhead (and Atlanta in general) is an area rife with scams and violent crimes.
The bank teller said Ryan Coogler refused to answer questions about the withdrawal, simply referring her back to the handwritten note. She said the transaction made her feel uneasy so the police were called out. He was briefly detained along with two people who were waiting outside in a black SUV parked in front of the bank. To Coogler’s credit, he hasn’t said anything about the situation. He even agreed with the officer who suggested that maybe he speak to a manager before going to the counter to withdraw money in a safe, discreet fashion.
SOURCES:
Ryan Coogler speaks out after being mistakenly suspected of attempted robbery | CNN
‘Black Panther’ Director Ryan Coogler Mistaken for Bank Robber – The Hollywood Reporter
‘Black Panther’ Director Ryan Coogler Mistaken for Bank Robber – The New York Times
‘Black Panther’ director Ryan Coogler mistaken for bank robber in Atlanta
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler accused of trying to rob bank | 11alive.com
Amid surge in violent crime, Atlanta’s wealthiest neighborhood ponders new city – The Washington Post
Lenox Square to add metal detectors, K-9 units to beef up mall security – WSB-TV Channel 2 – Atlanta
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