On January 7, Coogler – best known for directing Marvel’s 2018 hit Black Panther – walked into a Bank of America in Atlanta and passed the teller a withdrawal slip with a note written on the back asking her to “be discreet when handing him the cash”, according to a police report. The 35-year-old was trying to withdraw more than $10,000 ($A13,500), with the teller receiving “an alert notification” on her computer that prompted her to tell her manager that Coogler was trying to rob the bank – despite the fact he had multiple forms of ID on hand, including his California state ID card and Bank of America card, the report states. Both Coogler and the teller are Black. Police were then called to the branch, and upon arrival found an SUV parked out the front, the driver of which informed police he was waiting for Coogler to make a transaction inside the bank. A female passenger gave officers the same information. According to the report, the officers were given a description of the director that matched that of a man who was reported to have been trying to rob the bank. The SUV’s driver and passenger were arrested and placed inside a patrol car, before police entered the bank and handcuffed and removed Coogler, before determining he was not a bank robber. Police declared the episode resulted from a “mistake by Bank of America” and “Mr Coogler was never in the wrong”, adding the prolific director and producer was immediately taken out of handcuffs and the two others were taken out of the patrol car. All three were “given an explanation of the incident as well as an apology for the mistake by the Bank of America”. Body camera video released by police showed officers approaching Coogler from behind, with one pulling his gun and another telling Coogler to put his hands behind his back. “Whoa, whoa, what’s going on?” Coogler can be heard saying. “I don’t know who made what call, who did what, but I just had guns drawn on me for taking money out of my own account,” he then told them, while sitting handcuffed in the back of the police car, explaining that the money was for a medical assistant who works for his family and prefers to be paid in cash. Of the teller, who he said “never said it was a problem”, Coogler said “she got scared when a Black dude handed her a note”. “I don’t know what else to say. If she was scared, she’s got to admit that,” he added. In a separate body cam video, the teller claimed that Coogler pointed at the note on the withdrawal slip instead of answering her questions, and her “stomach started turning”. While her manager suggested they talk to Coogler before calling authorities, the teller, who is pregnant, suggested he could have a gun and called 911, telling police after, “I have to protect myself. I have to protect my child.” In a statement, Bank of America said they “deeply regret that this incident occurred”. “It never should have happened, and we have apologised to Mr Coogler,” they added. In a statement to The New York Times on Thursday, Coogler said, “This situation should never have happened.” He added that Bank of America “worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on”.
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