Ryan Coogler, director of "Black Panther"arrested by mistake in a bank – Chi News

American filmmaker Ryan Coogler, director of the blockbuster Black Pantherfound himself handcuffed by police in an Atlanta bank on January 7, after being mistakenly reported by a teller. The incident, reported this week by US media, comes two years after the resurgence of the movement Black Lives Matterwhich denounced the violence of the American police against the black community.

As shown in the video of the arrest, made by the police and relayed by Associated Pressthe director was at the counter of a Bank of America agency when two agents arrived from behind, one of them taking a gun out of its holster. “What’s going on?” Ryan Coogler asks, immediately clasping his hands behind his back for one of the officers to handcuff him.

The 35-year-old director showed up at the counter with his face partially concealed by sunglasses, a cap and a surgical mask. According to the police report, he demanded to withdraw more than $10,000. He handed a withdrawal slip to the teller on which he had written on the back “be discreet when handing me the cash”. She assured the police that he was not answering her questions, merely referring her to the note he handed her. Although he presented his ID and credit card, the teller saw a message informing him of a high-risk transaction appear on his computer and deferred to his manager. “My stomach started turning over,” she told law enforcement. Pregnant, and fearing that Coogler was armed, she preferred to call the police.

Escorted out of the bank

Arriving at the scene, officers spotted the SUV waiting for Ryan Coogler. The driver and passenger inside identified the filmmaker as a film producer, according to the New York Times. They were both placed in a patrol car before officers entered the facility.

Ryan Coogler was escorted by the police out of the bank. The video ofAssociated Press shows him explaining himself to them, sitting in the back seat of their vehicle:

“(The money is for) a medical assistant who works at my house and prefers to be paid in cash. Every time I withdraw money to pay her, it’s a lot of money, because she works a lot. So if I don’t write a note explaining how much I want to withdraw, and I don’t want the bills to go through the money counting machine, right there on the counter, the whole bank is staring at me (…) and I don’t feel safe.”

“She got scared when a black guy handed her a note”

The police quickly realized that it was a mistake and removed the handcuffs from the filmmaker. “We deeply regret that this incident has occurred,” Bank of America said in a statement. “This should never have happened and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler.”

“(The teller) got scared when a black guy handed her a note,” said Ryan Coogler in the columns of the ‘New York Times’, who clarified that she herself is black. “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Ryan Coogler is preparing the second part of the saga Black Pantherexpected on November 9. He also made Creeda spin-off from rockyreleased in 2015.

Original article published on BFMTV.com