Stephen Gruber-Miller

sgrubermil@press-citizen.com

Iowa City Police body camera videos released Tuesday show an encounter last week between officers looking for a bank robbery suspect and a black University of Iowa football player.

The videos show officers stopping and searching UI defensive end Faith Ekakitie on July 20. Police said Ekakitie matched the description of the suspect in an armed bank robbery.

With 'four gun barrels' in his face, Iowa football player recounts police encounter

Ekakitie wrote about the encounter in a viral Facebook post describing "four gun barrels staring me in the face" and saying that "today was the first time I've truly feared for my life."

His post quickly became a national story as media including ESPN and the Washington Post wrote about the incident.

In the video, officers can be seen approaching Ekakitie near Benton Hill Park on West Benton Street in Iowa City, about a quarter mile north of the First American Bank at 640 Highway 1 West, where the robbery occurred.

Police tell Ekakitie to keep his hands up. Officers then take off his backpack and search Ekakitie and the bag.

"Just keep your hands up. It's probably not you, but we've got to double-check," a female officer can be heard saying as officers approach Ekakitie.

Officers also ask Ekakitie what he was doing in the park and why he said he parked his moped around the corner.

"I was actually playing 'Pokemon Go,' believe it or not," Ekakitie says, referring to the popular mobile gaming app.

"I believe it, actually," an officer can be heard saying.

Officers then warn Ekakitie about the robbery suspect.

"If you see another black man dressed all in black right now, give us a call. Walk the other way, because he's supposed to have a gun," a male officer says.

According to Iowa City Police Department spokesman Sgt. Scott Gaarde, the initial description of the suspect was a black man about 6 feet tall, wearing a black shirt and shorts and a black covering on his head. Ekakitie, who is 6-foot-3, was wearing black goggles on his head, black pants and a black T-shirt when police spotted him.

A news release accompanying links to the videos stated there were two uniformed Iowa City police officers, two plainclothes ICPD investigators, one uniformed Johnson County Sheriff's deputy and one uniformed University of Iowa Police officer and a K-9 involved in the incident.

At least one officer can be seen in the video with a gun drawn.

Police have not located the suspect in the bank robbery, which was the first of three armed robberies within the last week. Officers are offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those suspects. Anyone with information is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at 319-358-8477. Callers may remain anonymous to collect their reward.

"As contact was made with Mr. Ekakitie, it was immediately noticed that he was wearing headphones and might not be able to hear the officers’ instructions," police wrote in the news release. "Within two minutes of the initial contact, officers determined that Mr. Ekakitie was not the suspect. Officers then explained why they had detained him. After routine checks to verify Mr. Ekakitie’s identify were completed, officers left the park."

Ekakitie ended his Facebook post by thanking the officers "for handling a sensitive situation very professionally" and encouraging everyone to "unlearn some of the prejudices that we have learned about each other and now plague our minds and our society."

He has received praise from a variety of sources for his handling of the situation.

"I thought it was a very articulate and well-written article ... and instead of pointing fingers and placing blame he actually took the initiative to look at it from a different perspective, which is refreshing," Gaarde said.

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, speaking at Big Ten Conference Media Days in Chicago on Tuesday, praised Ekakitie for his actions.

"I couldn’t be more proud of him and the way he handled it. I can’t imagine what that would be like to experience from his aspect," Ferentz said. "It sounds like he did a great job and it sounds like the law enforcement people did a great job, too. So hopefully it’s a learning situation for everybody nationally, not just locally."

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him at @sgrubermiller.

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