Popular streamer and YouTuber Desmond "Etika" Amofah streamed himself getting apprehended by Brooklyn Police on Monday afternoon, with 19,000 viewers tuned to an Instagram live feed via his phone.
The stream, which is around 45 minutes long, starts with Etika - who is said to have threatened to harm himself - speaking with the police before they make their way into his apartment before they escort him out. Prior to the police getting into the apartment, the YouTuber had been alternating camera views between himself and the window, through which three police cars and yellow caution tape could be seen. He also kept saying that he was scared, showing that the lawmen had removed his door handle and were about to come in.
Some of Etika's viewers asked that he comply with the police, but he showed no signs of going out. Instead, what looked like a SWAT team made their way in and asked him to put his shoes on before escorting him out.
Etika has built a steady following over the last few years by streaming games, mostly Nintendo titles. However, after uploading pornography to his YouTube channel in October, it was duly deleted.
"And now, it’s my turn to die. I love you all,” he would later post on Reddit (via Kotaku.) He eventually apologized for the post. “I’m sorry for worrying all of you,” he wrote.
A report from Newsweek, published hours before the incident with the police, claims Etika has been struggling with mental health issues for months. Back in April, he posted a photograph of himself holding a gun on Twitter, saying he was about to shoot himself. His ex-girlfriend, Alice Pika, who is also a streamer, claims the photo was fake.
“Since he posts photos of him with weapons, it explains why there were so many cops there because fans were scared he was going to kill himself," Pika told Kotaku. "But those photos were fake, photoshopped guns on his image.”
“I was never scared for his life today because I trust in him and the NYPD to safely take him to the hospital. Even last night, I wasn’t worried for his life.”
The photo above shows Etika strapped to a gurney while his hands appear to be cuffed behind his back.
The lawmen who stormed his apartment took him to the Brooklyn hospital. An NYPD representative stated that the incident stemmed from the streamer threatening to take his own life in the apartment.