Malik McDowell is 6’6” tall and he weighs 300 lbs. He played football for Michigan State and was a 2nd round draft pick for the Seattle Seahawks in the 2017. He was stopped for speeding and erratic driving in February by a police officer purported to be 5’5” and 5’7”, weighing between 150 – 170 lbs. by some reports.

McDowell is easily a foot taller and over 100 plus pounds heavier than the Lathrop, Michigan police officer who pulled him over. This officer stopped McDowell in the parking lot of a convenience store and the man exited his car without being asked. The officer was put in a terrible situation as McDowell was completely uncooperative, refused to produce a license and attempted to, and, in fact, did enter the store against the officer’s orders.

Once inside the fight started as you will see on video. The officer did his best to control the situation, making tough split-second decisions that we address only for discussion and training points in the video. The officer fought the man and was able to control him as he waited for the much needed backup.

McDowell was reported to have a .18k blood alcohol level. He was cited for DUI and Resisting Arrest. His attorney, after seeing the video from inside the store, said publicly that there were mitigating factors in his client’s favor that happened before he was in the store.  At one point it appears in the video that McDowell was going for the backup officer’s gun, which he never did get.

Note: We edit these videos for discussion, in no way are we second-guessing the officer. Use the video for discussion.