*Here we go again. In an Iowa City park on Wednesday, a game of Pokemon Go ended with a scary incident with police for Iowa football player Faith Ekakitie. Raise your hand if you’ve basically heard this story … a gazillion damn times. 🙁
The story goes that at the same time Ekakitie was engrossed in the game, the Iowa City Police Department was looking for a suspect in an armed bank robbery who fit the Hawkeyes senior defensive tackle’s general description: a large black male, dressed in all black, with something on his head. The robbery occurred less than three minutes from the park.
Ekakitie shared his story on Facebook (via The Gazette in Cedar Rapids).
“Today was the first time that I’ve ever truly feared for my life, and I have the media to thank for that,” Ekakitie wrote.
He said he was surrounded by about five police who had their guns trained on him and searched him.
When they initially tried to apprehend Ekakitie, he did not obey because he did not see or hear them — they approached him from behind, and he had a headphones on.
When Ekakitie realized what was happening, he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He is thankful the cops didn’t misinterpret that as him reaching for a gun.
Ekakitie writes:
“I am not one to usually rant on Facebook or anywhere else, but with all of the crazy things that have been happening in our world these past couple of weeks it is hard to stay silent. I am thankful to be alive, and I do now realize, that it very well could have been me, a friend of mine, my brother, your cousin, your nephew etc. Misunderstandings happen all the time and just like that things can go south very quickly. It is extremely sad that our society has brainwashed us all to the point where we can’t feel safe being approached by the police officers in our respective communities. Not all police officers are out to get you, but at the same time, not all people who fit a criminal profile are criminals.”
Read Ekakitie’s full Facebook post here.
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