By Lily Abromeit
The Iowa City police have released footage from an incident involving the misidentification of an Iowa football player as a suspected bank robber.
On July 20 at 1:53 p.m., officers responded to an armed-robbery report at First American Bank, 640 Highway 1 W. Three minutes later, arriving on scene, they were given a description of the suspect, whom witnesses described as a black male dressed in black shorts with a black covering over his face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lgxtwvdi_4&feature=youtu.be
At 2:03 p.m., or 1:55 p.m. on the released video, it was reported that a man matching the description was seen at Benton Hill Park on West Benton Street. The man was Faith Ekakitie, defensive lineman for the Iowa football team. Officers attempted to make contact with Ekakitie, but according to a post he wrote on Facebook, he didn’t hear them approach because he was playing the popular virtual-reality game Pokémon Go.
The group consisted of two uniformed Iowa City police officers, one uniformed Johnson County sheriff’s deputy, two plainclothes Iowa City police investigators, one University of Iowa police officer, and a K-9.
In two minutes, they realized Ekakitie was not the suspect, and within six minutes, officers and Ekakitie left the scene.
The two videos released are from body cameras and show officers approach Ekakitie, ask him to turn around, and proceed to search him and his backpack. Ekakitie was only a few blocks from the crime scene and was wearing goggles on his face that he said in the video he wears while riding his moped.
In his post on Facebook, Ekakitie thanked the officers for the way they handled the situation.
“I would like to thank the Iowa City Police Department for handling a sensitive situation very professionally,” he wrote in the post. “I would urge us all to at least attempt to unlearn some of the prejudices that we have learned about each other and now plague our minds and our society.”
In the release, the police said they decided to provide information on the situation because the story has gone viral across Iowa City and even the country.
In the video, officers apologize to Ekakitie for scaring him.
“The Iowa City Police Department would like to thank Mr. Ekakitie for his understanding and cooperation as the Police Department was responding to a dangerous armed robbery,” the statement read.
The robbery is still under investigation, and the Iowa City Area CrimeStoppers is offering a reward for up to $1,000 for information.