The incident happened on Feb. 25.

Police have released the bodycam footage of last month’s bizarre arrest involving former NFL first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche.

On the evening of Feb. 25, officers with the Union City Police Department in Union City, Georgia, detained the former NFL and CFL player for shoplifting at a Kroger supermarket location.

Per Edward Lewis of the California Post, officers found Nkemdiche with multiple grocery items stuffed in his sweatpants. Among the items stolen were almond milk, frozen meals and candy bars.

One of the officers on the scene calls out the former Arizona Cardinals first-round pick for lying:

“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…Yes the f—k you did (steal from the grocery store) Stop lying to me.”

According to Lewis, a Kroger representative declined to press charges against Robert Nkemdiche. However, officers booked him that evening after discovering multiple warrants against Nkemdiche across the country. He was later released from custody.

Robert Nkemdiche Never Lived Up To Expectations In The NFL

Robert Nkemdiche (Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
Expectations were high for Nkemdiche coming into the NFL. He earned First-team All-SEC and Second-team All-American honors in his final college season at Ole Miss.

The Cardinals, coming off a trip to the 2015 NFC Championship Game, took Nkemdiche 29th overall in 2016. Joining a front seven led by Calais Campbell and Chandler Jones, Nkemdiche was in a good spot to produce early and often for Bruce Arians’ squad.

But it never came together for Nkemdiche in the NFL. In three seasons with the Cardinals, he logged just 4.5 sacks in 38 games. One-year stints with the Miami Dolphins (2019) and Seattle Seahawks (2021) did nothing to revive his career.

Nkemdiche played for the CFL’s Edmonton Elks in 2024, but was released after four games.