Ex-standout football QB Jayru Campbell arrested after faceoff with police in Oakland County
A former standout high school and college football quarterback was booked in the Oakland County Jail on Christmas Day after live-streaming a tense skirmish with police on social media.
In the first of two short videos, Jayru Campbell, who turned 26 on Tuesday, is shirtless and holding a young girl — who appears to be his daughter — in his arms. Campbell is confronted by four armed police officers, one of whom is holding what appears to be a ballistic shield that says "Police AHPD."
The faceoff, according to news reports, was in a psychiatric facility in Auburn Hills. Campbell's arraignment is pending.
It's difficult to understand exactly what the confrontation was about and what Campbell was upset about from the videos. He says, among other things, "Let's do it," and later, "Y'all let me down enough" and "I'm doing it today for everything, bro."
One of the uniformed and armed officers replies: "We don't want you to kill anybody, man."
Campbell shouts back, "You've got the gun in your hand," and flashes a pair of blue-handled scissors. He threatens to harm the officers, saying, "Trust me, trust me!" Later he says he's "pissed off" about the "system," and tells them to "drop your gun."
Campbell and one of the officers exchange words with the video ending with Campbell telling the officers that "you're talking about a father and his daughter" attempting to talk about a system that has been "haunting me for a week, listen."
In a second, somewhat longer video, Campbell is still holding the girl, says there's "no telling" when the next Christmas is coming and mentions that he's "going crazy." He says he doesn't "trust white people." Off camera, a voice adds that "we don't want you to stab one of us" and "we don't want you to harm her."
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Campbell says he wishes his father held him like this, and then points to the officers and threatens them. "Let's do it" he keeps saying, noting on the video that he's in Havenwyck Hospital, adding, as if he is daring the officers, "Come on, come on!"
Campbell's football career is marked with athletic prowess and disappointment.
As a freshman quarterback at Detroit Cass Tech, Campbell helped lead the Technicians to the 2011 Division I state championship. He committed to play college football at Michigan State, but a pair of assault charges while in high school derailed those plans.
Campbell also reached stardom in college football, first in community college and later at Ferris State in 2018, where he won the Harlon Hill Award as the best player in all of Division II. He also helped the Bulldogs reach the national title game.
He returned to Ferris in 2019, but an ankle injury ended his college career a few games early.
Campbell's NFL prospects were limited during the 2020 draft when teams did not give him any serious looks.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com. Sports Editor Kirkland Crawford contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jayru Campbell, ex-standout football QB, arrested after police faceoff
