Police stop Iowa's Ekakitie at gunpoint in Pokemon GO misunderstanding
Pokemon GO has quickly become one of the most downloaded apps in history, though the global phenomenon hasn't arisen without its share of controversy as the game's been blamed for injuries to players not paying attention to their surroundings.
It's safe to say that Iowa defensive lineman Faith Ekakitie's experience with the game is certainly among the strangest and most frightening of the bunch.
In a post on his Facebook page Wednesday, Ekakitie detailed a run-in with police while he was attempting to play the game, and how wearing headphones led to a misunderstanding that made him fear for his life.
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.
The police were in the area because a bank robbery had occurred minutes earlier. Ekakitie had just arrived in the park while playing Pokemon GO and happened to fit the description of the robbery suspect: "a large black male, wearing all black, with something on top of his head."
The suspect was also armed, so police approached Ekakitie and identified themselves, but because he was wearing headphones, he didn't hear the identification. Believing Ekakitie to be non-responsive and seeing him reach into his pocket (for his phone), the officers drew their guns, approached and proceeded to search him.
Concerned that media wouldn't report details about the headphones or the game and instead focus on police drawing guns on a black man, Ekatite said he wrote the post to clear up what happened and thank the police for their handling of the situation.
... 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 ... 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.