Bodycam Video Surfaces From Grizzlies’ Brandon Clarke’s Arkansas Arrest With Bags Of Kratom, Weeks Before NBA Star’s Death At 29

Newly released bodycam footage shows the April traffic stop that led to Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke’s arrest in Arkansas, roughly six weeks before he died at 29 at his Los Angeles-area home in early May.

The footage captures Clarke’s arrest on speeding and drug possession charges, after deputies found kratom — an herbal supplement derived from a Southeast Asian tree that is often sold at gas stations and marketed as an energy booster, relaxant and pain reliever — inside his bag.

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Details of the stop describe deputies pulling Clarke over along Highway 64 in eastern Arkansas after he allegedly tried to flee at speeds topping 100 mph in his Corvette ZR1. A search of a duffel bag on the passenger seat turned up seven smaller bags of green powder capsules and chewable tablets.

Deputies said the bag held 235 grams of kratom along with 7-OH, a more potent kratom-derived compound. Because Arkansas outlawed kratom a decade ago and treats it as a controlled substance, the amount triggered a felony trafficking charge that prosecutors treated on par with heroin possession. Clarke reportedly told deputies it was “just kratom,” though the arrest warrant listed both substances, and lab testing to confirm the capsules’ contents was never completed before his case closed.

Clarke’s death is still being investigated. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a 911 medical emergency call at his home on a Monday evening; paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, and investigators have examined the possibility of an overdose after drug paraphernalia was reportedly found inside the house. A cause of death has not been officially confirmed pending toxicology results.

Kratom’s legal status varies widely by state — legal in places like Washington and, until recently, Tennessee, where it’s sold openly in smoke shops, but banned or restricted in roughly two dozen states. Missouri’s attorney general has opened an investigation into kratom marketing practices, arguing companies downplay the products’ risks to athletes, young people, and people in pain or recovering from addiction.

Clarke, a 2019 first-round pick out of Gonzaga, spent all seven of his NBA seasons with Memphis but was limited by injuries in his final years, playing just two games this past season. NBA commissioner Adam Silver called him “a beloved teammate and leader who played the game with enormous passion and grit.”

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Article by Erik Meers