Police bodycam footage shows officers tearing former NFL star Robert Nkemdiche apart after he was caught allegedly stealing groceries last month.
The former Arizona Cardinals first-round pick, who earned almost $5million during his NFL career, was stopped by Union City Police Department officers in Georgia at around 10:45pm on February 25.
He was accused of concealing a number of stolen items from a local Kroger store in his trousers.
Bodycam footage from the confrontation and obtained by the New York Post, shows officers discovering candy bars, frozen meals and cartons of almond milk, which Nkemdiche is said to have ditched between stealing them and the police arriving.
It was at that moment the officers refused to hold back in their scathing assessment of the former defensive tackle.
‘Look, man. We’re not going to play these games. Because I’ve ran into you too many times. And you keep lying,’ one officer told a handcuffed Nkemdiche.
Nkemdiche was picked in the first round of the 2016 Draft by the Arizona Cardinals
‘You can say whatever you want to say. But I just watched you walk out of here with a big-a** bulge in your pants. I asked you what it was. You said nothing.
‘Then, to give you the benefit of the doubt, I was like, “OK. Maybe he’s just got, I don’t know, like, a condition.” I let you go, and I see you just take off running behind the gas station.’
Nkemdiche pleaded his innocence, trying to interrupt the officer to claim he didn’t steal the items.
‘Yes the f*** you did,’ the officer responded. ‘Stop lying to me.’
One officer revealed the scope of their dealings with Nkemdiche, saying it was her ‘third time’ questioning him. ‘This is a repeated offense for you,’ she added.
According to an incident report, Nkemdiche was spotted by an officer who was conducting a business area check with ‘many large objects, square and rectangular shapes, consistent with concealed grocery items, inside his sweatpants.’
The officer called for backup as Nkemdiche entered a nearby gas station and he was soon placed in handcuffs. The store apparently didn’t want to press charges but he was still arrested because he had ‘multiple warrants across multiple states’.
It is not the first time Nkemdiche, who was last at the San Francisco 49ers and got released in August 2022, has had a run-in with the law.
He earned almost $5million throughout his NFL career with his last spells with the 49ers
In 2015, Nkemdiche was charged with marijuana possession after a fall from the fourth floor of a hotel in Atlanta during his time at college with Ole Miss.
‘I want to apologize to Rebel nation, my teammates and coaches for my actions last weekend,’ he said at the time in a statement through the school.
‘I made a mistake and put myself in an environment that doesn’t reflect who I am as a person.’
Nkemdiche played for the Cardinals until 2018 before spells with the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and the 49ers.
Since leaving San Francisco, he has signed with the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League and the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League.
