Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill told reporters on Wednesday he could have handled the traffic stop that lead to his brief detainment by police before the season opener better—but also called for the Miami-Dade Police Department to fire one of the officers involved.
Hill was pulled over by police outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Sunday. When the Dolphins’ star receiver began arguing with the officers about keeping his window rolled down, an officer pulled him from his McLaren sportscar and handcuffed him on the side of the road.
Miami-Dade police released over 105 minutes of body-worn camera footage of the incident from six different officers on Monday as part of their “commitment to keeping the public informed.”
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“Yes, I will say I could’ve been better. I could’ve let down my window in that instant,” Hill told reporters at another press conference on Wednesday, later adding “but at the end of the day I’m human. I’ve got to follow rules, I’ve got to do what everyone else would do. Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently.”
Hill was eventually given two tickets for careless driving and failing to wear a seatbelt, the Associated Press confirmed, and made it to the Dolphins’ season opener against Jacksonville.
The officer who handcuffed the star receiver was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. The Miami New Times later identified him as Danny Torres, a 27-year veteran of the force.
At the press conference on Wednesday, Hill said that he wants the arresting officer “gone.”
“Gone, gone, gone, gone,” he repeated. “He gotta go man,” Hill continued. “Because in that incident right there, not only did he treat me bad… he also treated my teammates with disrespect. You know, he had some crazy words towards them. And they didn’t even do nothing. Like, what did they do to you? They just walking on the sidewalk.”
The body-worn camera footage confirmed that the officers also handcuffed Hill’s teammate Calais Campbell, a defensive tackle for the Dolphins, who approached the scene trying to diffuse the situation.
“It’s shell-shocking, man. It’s really crazy to know that you have officers in this world that will literally do that with bodycams on.” Hill said. “What would they do if they didn’t have bodycams? It’s a lot to unpack” he asked.
Ignacio Alvarez and Israel Reyes, attorneys representing Torres, said they were calling for his “immediate reinstatement, and a complete, thorough, and objective investigation.”
We urge all parties to refrain from making public statements that may misrepresent our client’s actions and mislead the public about Mr. Hill’s detainment,” Alvarez said in a statement sent to the Daily Beast.
