What started as a seemingly minor incident quickly escalated into a bizarre and widely discussed moment involving former NFL first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche. According to reports, police bodycam footage captured the aftermath of an alleged incident involving something as unexpected as almond milk — but the situation turned far more serious once officers arrived on the scene. Nkemdiche, who previously played for teams including the Arizona Cardinals, was seen in a tense exchange with law enforcement, with officers reportedly confronting him over the alleged theft. What might have sounded unusual at first quickly became a heated situation, as captured on the bodycam video now circulating online. The footage has sparked strong reactions from fans, many trying to understand how such an incident escalated the way it did. But one particular moment in the exchange is what has people talking the most. And it may completely change how the situation is being viewed.
Robert Nkemdiche received quite the tongue lashing from cops after he was detained for stealing groceries in Georgia late last month, newly released police video shows.
The former NFL first-round pick’s encounter with Union City Police Department officers occurred at around 10:45 p.m. on Feb. 25, after he was accused of leaving a Kroger with multiple large objects hidden inside his sweatpants.
Body camera footage, obtained by The California Post on Monday, shows once a cop discovered items that Nkemdiche allegedly ditched after stealing from the store — including candy bars, frozen meals and cartons of almond milk — he and his colleagues laid into the ex-Cardinals defensive lineman.
“Look, man,” one officer told a handcuffed Nkemdiche. “We’re not going to play these games. Because I’ve ran into you too many times. And you keep lying.
Cops detained Robert Nkemdiche in Union City, Ga. after he allegedly stole from a grocery store.
Georgia police alleged Robert Nkemdiche stole multiple items, including almond milk, from a grocery store in late February.
“You can say whatever you want to say. But I just watched you walk out of here with a big-ass 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 repeatedly tried to interrupt the officer, and at one point, he adamantly said he didn’t steal the groceries.
“Yes the f—k you did,” the cop told Nkemdiche. “Stop lying to me.”
Officers on the scene made it abundantly clear they had detained Nkemdiche on multiple occasions in recent months, and were tired of seeing him.
Robert Nkemdiche was detained by cops on Feb. 25.
Robert Nkemdiche was arrested after cops said he had “multiple warrants across multiple states.”
After playing at Ole Miss, Robert Nkemdiche was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
One cop actually said to the 31-year-old it was her “third time” questioning him.
“This is a repeated offense for you,” she added.
After minutes of back and forth, Nkemdiche eventually apologized, promised to never steal again, and said he only did it this time because his manager was “bringing me food and I was just in a rush.”
“That’s all,” he said.
Cops wrote in an incident report that a Kroger representative told them they did not want to press charges, but Nkemdiche was nonetheless arrested after a database search revealed he had “multiple warrants across multiple states.”
Jail records show he was booked at 1:44 a.m. on Feb. 26, before he was released some six hours later.
Nkemdiche, an Atlanta native, was taken by Arizona with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and he went on to play five seasons in the league — logging snaps in regular season action for the Cardinals, Dolphins and Seahawks.
His last time on an NFL team came in 2022, when he was briefly a part of the 49ers’ preseason roster.
