Police Fatally Shot Former NFL DT Ekom Udofia, Bodycam Video Confirms

Phoenix police presented bodycam footage Monday of the Nov. 30 fatal shooting of former NFL and Stanford University defensive lineman Ekom Udofia. 

According to Emily Wilder and Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic, the critical incident briefing included bodycam video, which showed officers shooting Udofia multiple times with bullets, stun bags and pepper balls.

Per Wilder and Obert, officers were dispatched around 2 a.m. on Nov. 30 after reports a man was acting erratically near traffic and appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

Udofia approached police while holding what appeared to be a gun. Officers pleaded with him to stop and drop the object. When he did not comply, one officer yelled, "Dude, I got to shoot him, bro!"

The two officers shot Udofia at least five times, causing him to fall to the ground. While on the ground, he was shot with stun bags and baton rounds, and although it was not seen on the bodycam footage, police said he pointed the gun at them again from the ground, which resulted in officers firing at least six more live rounds at him.

Officers also shot more pepper balls at Udofia before a police dog was deployed, biting Udofia's leg and dragging him away from the weapon. He was then taken to the hospital where he died.

It was later confirmed that the weapon Udofia was holding was a BB gun.

Udofia, who was 33 at the time of his death, spent five seasons playing defensive line at Stanford from 2005-09.

He registered 1.5 sacks during his collegiate career, and his best season came in 2006 when he recorded 43 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack.

After going undrafted, Udofia briefly spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints, although he never appeared in a regular-season NFL game.

The Phoenix Police Department is conducting both internal and criminal investigations to determine whether the four officers acted properly in the shooting.