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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Police have released body camera footage showing a University of Iowa football player being questioned by police who were searching for a robbery suspect. The footage released Tuesday shows an encounter defensive end Faith Ekakitie described in a Facebook post earlier this week. He wrote that he was playing the popular smartphone game "Pokemon Go" in a public park when he was surrounded by police and searched at gunpoint. Ekakitie said he feared for his life but understood why police did what they did. In the video, an officer can be heard telling Ekakitie to put his hands up. The officer says, "It's probably not you, but we've got to double check." Ekakitie tells the officers he'd been playing "Pokemon Go," which sends players to physical locations to "catch" virtual Pokemon characters. After the officers check Ekakitie's ID, one thanks him for his cooperation. In his Facebook post, Ekakitie thanked the officers for acting professionally and encouraged people to be more aware of their surroundings. "Pokemon Go" is a game in which players go to different locations to find virtual characters that appear on their cellphones. It has become a phenomenon since its release earlier this month. Ekakitie, a senior, played in 12 games last season, recording 13 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and one fumble recovery. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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