Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But in this situation, a life lesson is learned and shared for others to put into perspective.
Iowa defensive end Faith Ekakitie wrote Wednesday in a note on Facebook that "today was the first time I've truly feared my life, and I have the media to thank for that."
The 6-3, 290-pound senior had just arrived at an Iowa City park to play the popular mobile-gaming app Pokemon Go. Elsewhere in town, a local bank had just been robbed, with the suspect identified as a large black male who was wearing all black and something on his head, Ekakitie's post said.
Iowa City police noticed Ekakitie, whose clothes matched the armed suspect's description, at the park and took action, Ekakitie said in the post. Sgt. Jorey Bailey said Sunday that the bank robbery had occurred less than a block away from Ekakitie's location.
"The bank robbery call came out, and then two minutes later officers saw this person less than a block away from the bank matching the description." Bailey said.
Wearing his headphones when police approached him, Ekakitie said he didn't realize four officers were behind him. Because he didn't comply, police drew their guns and approached Ekakitie, he said.
"My pockets were checked, my backpack was opened up and searched carefully, and I was asked to lift up my shirt while they searched my waistband," Ekakitie wrote in the post.
Bailey said that was the correct approach for officers.
"It's reasonable given the circumstances that weapons would have still been drawn, given the fact that this person matched the description of an armed bank robber. He was in the area of the bank within two minutes," he said.
Wednesday's incident follows recent fatal shootings of black men by police officers in other states.
Ekakitie wrote that misunderstandings occur, but that it's "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."
Bailey said he doesn't think race played a factor in this particular situation.
"I don't think race played a factor in this, nor does it in circumstances like this because of the detailed description, the location given by the person and the short time span in which this all occurred," Bailey said.
Ekakitie closed his post by thanking the Iowa City Police Department for handling the situation professionally, as well as urging people to learn from his post by being more aware of their surroundings.
Today was the first time that I’ve ever truly feared for my life, and I have the media to thank for that.
Today I was surrounded and searched by approximately five Iowa City Police Officers. My pockets were checked, my backpack was opened up and searched carefully, and I was asked to lift up my shirt while they searched my waistband. Not once did they identify themselves to me as Iowa City Police officers, but with four gun barrels staring me in the face, I wouldn’t dare question the authority of the men and woman in front of me. This is what happened from my point of view.
From the police officers point of view, all they knew was that a bank had just been robbed less than ten minutes ago. The suspect was a large black male, wearing all black, with something on top of his head and the suspect is armed. As they drive past an Iowa City park that was less than 3 minutes away from the bank that was just robbed, they notice a large black man, dressed in all black, with black goggles on his head. They quickly move to action and identify themselves as the Iowa City police and ask me to turn around and place my hands up. I do not comply, they ask again, and again no response from me. So they all draw their guns and begin to slowly approach the suspect.
In this situation, what the media would fail to let people know is that the suspect had his headphones in the entire time the Police Officers approached him initially. The suspect had actually just pulled up to the park because he was playing a newly popular Game called Pokémon Go. The suspect didn’t realize that there were four cops behind him because his music was blaring in his ears. The suspect had reached into his pockets, for something which was his phone, but for all the cops could have known, he was reaching for a gun. The suspect could very well become another statistic on this day.
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.
So with that, I would like the thank the Iowa City Police department for handling a sensitive situation very professionally. I would also urge people to be more aware of their surroundings because clearly I wasn’t. Lastly, I would urge us all to at least to attempt to unlearn some of the prejudices that we have learned about each other and now plague our minds and our society. I am convinced that in the same way that we learned these prejudices, we can also unlearn them.
But in this situation, a life lesson is learned and shared for others to put into perspective.
Iowa defensive end Faith Ekakitie wrote Wednesday in a note on Facebook that "today was the first time I've truly feared my life, and I have the media to thank for that."
The 6-3, 290-pound senior had just arrived at an Iowa City park to play the popular mobile-gaming app Pokemon Go. Elsewhere in town, a local bank had just been robbed, with the suspect identified as a large black male who was wearing all black and something on his head, Ekakitie's post said.
Iowa City police noticed Ekakitie, whose clothes matched the armed suspect's description, at the park and took action, Ekakitie said in the post. Sgt. Jorey Bailey said Sunday that the bank robbery had occurred less than a block away from Ekakitie's location.
"The bank robbery call came out, and then two minutes later officers saw this person less than a block away from the bank matching the description." Bailey said.
Wearing his headphones when police approached him, Ekakitie said he didn't realize four officers were behind him. Because he didn't comply, police drew their guns and approached Ekakitie, he said.
"My pockets were checked, my backpack was opened up and searched carefully, and I was asked to lift up my shirt while they searched my waistband," Ekakitie wrote in the post.
Bailey said that was the correct approach for officers.
"It's reasonable given the circumstances that weapons would have still been drawn, given the fact that this person matched the description of an armed bank robber. He was in the area of the bank within two minutes," he said.
Wednesday's incident follows recent fatal shootings of black men by police officers in other states.
Ekakitie wrote that misunderstandings occur, but that it's "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."
Bailey said he doesn't think race played a factor in this particular situation.
"I don't think race played a factor in this, nor does it in circumstances like this because of the detailed description, the location given by the person and the short time span in which this all occurred," Bailey said.
Ekakitie closed his post by thanking the Iowa City Police Department for handling the situation professionally, as well as urging people to learn from his post by being more aware of their surroundings.
Today was the first time that I’ve ever truly feared for my life, and I have the media to thank for that.
Today I was surrounded and searched by approximately five Iowa City Police Officers. My pockets were checked, my backpack was opened up and searched carefully, and I was asked to lift up my shirt while they searched my waistband. Not once did they identify themselves to me as Iowa City Police officers, but with four gun barrels staring me in the face, I wouldn’t dare question the authority of the men and woman in front of me. This is what happened from my point of view.
From the police officers point of view, all they knew was that a bank had just been robbed less than ten minutes ago. The suspect was a large black male, wearing all black, with something on top of his head and the suspect is armed. As they drive past an Iowa City park that was less than 3 minutes away from the bank that was just robbed, they notice a large black man, dressed in all black, with black goggles on his head. They quickly move to action and identify themselves as the Iowa City police and ask me to turn around and place my hands up. I do not comply, they ask again, and again no response from me. So they all draw their guns and begin to slowly approach the suspect.
In this situation, what the media would fail to let people know is that the suspect had his headphones in the entire time the Police Officers approached him initially. The suspect had actually just pulled up to the park because he was playing a newly popular Game called Pokémon Go. The suspect didn’t realize that there were four cops behind him because his music was blaring in his ears. The suspect had reached into his pockets, for something which was his phone, but for all the cops could have known, he was reaching for a gun. The suspect could very well become another statistic on this day.
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.
So with that, I would like the thank the Iowa City Police department for handling a sensitive situation very professionally. I would also urge people to be more aware of their surroundings because clearly I wasn’t. Lastly, I would urge us all to at least to attempt to unlearn some of the prejudices that we have learned about each other and now plague our minds and our society. I am convinced that in the same way that we learned these prejudices, we can also unlearn them.