Body Cam Footage of Ryan Coogler Police Detainment Released, See The Video
Famous director of Creed and Black Panther, Ryan Coogler, was mistaken for a bank robber and detained by police. The bodycam footage has now been released.
This article is more than 2 years old
Famed producer and director, Ryan Coogler, was part of a massive misunderstanding while in Bank of America back in January. Apparently, while he had got into the bank to pull out $12,000 from his own account, the man was put on the ground by police officers. The whole event took place due to Coogler sliding a note to the bank teller 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.” While he was only attempting to pull out cash to pay an employee of his, the teller thought the note signified a bank robbery. The teller stalled and immediately called 911 so that nearby officers could respond. Now the Atlanta Police Department released the bodycam footage of the incident. You can see the video below:
The video does look scary in nature, considering the officers approach Ryan Coogler immediately, with the officer at his back pulling out his handgun. Coogler immediately says, “whoa whoa, what’s going on?” which is something that most people want to know if they were being detained for pulling money out of their own bank account. The money had apparently been pulled out so that he could pay someone on his crew. Shooting for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is taking place in Atlanta, and the crew that works on the film likely asked to be paid in cash. Two of Coogler’s friends were waiting for him outside and had also been detained by the police. It took around 15 minutes for the confusion to be sorted out and everyone was released. Bank of America has since released an apology on the matter.
The bodycam footage of Ryan Coogler was likely released to show that the officers on the scene were just doing their jobs. This is sort of a smart move considering how the incident could have gone. Thankfully the police officers cleared things up and didn’t go in ready to shoot Ryan Coogler for mistaking him to be a bank robber. Since the event took place, Coogler accepted the apology from the branch manager and the teller working and had reportedly moved on from the situation completely. However, he did ask for the badge numbers and names of the officers who had been there during this incident. It sounds as if no legal action has been taken, and everyone walked away without getting hurt in any way.
Ryan Coogler is currently working on the Black Panther sequel and has a career full of achievements. From Fruitvale Station to Creed, and Judas and the Black Messiah, the man is truly a visionary. Thankfully the incident at Bank of America is one that can be learned from and not replicated. While it should have never happened, we are all glad that Mr. Coogler is doing fine after such a scary situation. Filming has continued in Atlanta and the bank has issued their apology and both parties have moved on. Maybe passing a note to a teller would be the learning moment to take out of all this, then again, maybe not thinking a note being passed should also signify a bank robbery should be part of the bank’s training.
