Back in 2022 'Sinners' Director Ryan Coogler Was Mistaken for a Bank Robber While in Atlanta

Director Ryan Coogler is responsible for a slew of fun, thought-provoking movies that often involve tough conversations around race in America. His first feature-length film, 2013's Fruitvale Station, is based on the circumstances surrounding the murder of Oscar Grant.

It happened seven years before the death of George Floyd, but the similarities are disturbing. Grant was portrayed by actor Michael B. Jordan, who would go on to work with Coogler in Creed as well as Sinners.

A few years before Sinners was released, Coogler found himself on the receiving end of prejudice after an arrest in Atlanta. What happened?

Following the success of Sinners, which has grossed more than $300 million worldwide, footage of Coogler getting arrested resurfaced online. In police body cam footage shared by the @PicturesFoIder X account, Coogler is seen wearing a medical mask while standing by a bank teller.

The officer with the body cam asks Coogler to put his hands behind his back while a separate cop behind him places handcuffs on the director's wrists. Though his face is partially covered, it's clear Coogler is confused.

Coogler is walked through the lobby before the footage jumps to him standing outside, without the handcuffs. He asks the police officers who was responsible for happened. One replied that, "It came from the bank." Rightfully upset, Coogler said that up until this point every Bank of America he'd ever been in never had a problem.

Footage on TikTok also shows Coogler in the backseat of a police car.

The Black Panther director asks law enforcement officers to look at this from his perspective. He handed the bank teller a note asking if she could be discreet because he was about to withdraw a large sum of money, and didn't want to draw attention to himself.

Per Coogler, she said no problem, then took his license and watched as he put his debit card through the card reader, and entered his personal identification number. By all accounts, everything was fine until it wasn't.

The incident occurred on Jan. 7, 2022, while he was in Georgia for work. According to The New York Times, the bank teller "received an alert notification" from Coogler's account, likely because he was trying to get $10,000 in cash.

The money was for a "medical assistant" who was working for his family at the time.

A manager at the bank, who arrived while Coogler was being arrested, apologized to the director and said the teller was pregnant, so her emotions were running high.

"She got scared when a Black dude handed her a note," Coogler said to police. "If she was scared, she’s got to admit that."

The bank teller is also Black.

Coogler said in a statement that this "situation should never have happened." He went on to say that Bank America addressed the issue with him, and they worked things out.

"We deeply regret that this incident occurred," said the bank in a separate statement. "It never should have happened, and we have apologized to Mr. Coogler."