Posted by Atlanta, GA – Black Panther director Ryan Coolger was briefly handcuffed by Atlanta police in January following a bizarre incident at Bank of America. The famed filmmaker walked into a local branch wearing sunglasses and a mask per the county’s COVID-19 mandate looking to withdraw a large amount of cash.
But rather than put his financial business on blast, he slid the bank teller a note 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 teller, described as a Black pregnant woman, thought she was being robbed, so she alerted police to an armed robbery in progress. Once officers arrived on the scene, they detained two people waiting outside for Coogler in an SUV and brought Coogler out in handcuffs. After realizing it was a huge misunderstanding, Coogler and his friends were released. Still, their vindication did little to sway Charlamagne Tha God from naming Bank of America on Ferry Road “Donkey Of The Day.”
Charlamagne proudly gave the bank the distinct honor on Thursday (March 10) and explained why he was so disgusted.
“At the end of the day, he’s just a man, a Black man who had a checking account at Bank of America, who had all his proper ID’s. Was breaking no laws. So what he had a mask on? A mask and glasses. The CDC says you don’t need a mask indoors; he still had one on ’cause why not? Everyone says mask mandates indoors is up to our discretion … Ryan had enough street smarts to know the wolves are out.”
He continued his case by condemning the teller for not checking his account first before calling the police.
Charlamagne Tha God was particularly bothered by the police body cam footage. In a clip making the rounds, police officers approach Coogler while he was still at the bank teller counter on January 7. When one of the cops pulls a gun before detaining Coogler, the 35-year-old can be heard saying, “Whoa, whoa, what’s going on?”
Coogler immediately cooperates, telling the officers, “Hands behind my back — you got it.” He asks, “Is there any reason y’all are doing this, bro?” but is not given an immediate response.
“If you just run my name, you’ll understand why you should take me off of these cuffs,” Coogler says. “You could not do it, but it’s going to be really bad for you. “I’m really trying to keep it from being a bad day on your job, bro. Black man to Black man.”
Coogler then asks for someone to remove his sunglasses because he felt like he was having a “panic attack.” When officers finally tell him he was arrested because of the note, Coogler explains he has a medical assistant who prefers to be paid in cash, and since he has to withdraw a large sum of money to pay them, he doesn’t “feel safe” asking for it publicly.
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Once it became clear the entire thing was a grave mistake, Coolger tells one of the officers, “I need to find out who made that call in there,” to which the officer replied, “It came from the bank.”
“We deeply regret that this incident occurred,” a Bank of America spokesperson said in a statement. “It never should have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.” Coogler added, “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 has been in Atlanta shooting a Black Panther sequel titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is expected to arrive in November.