Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill has called for arresting police officer to be sacked; Hill was briefly detained after being pulled over for a traffic incident on his way to opening match of the NFL season; Warning: Viewers may find video and details of story distressing
Wednesday 11 September 2024 10:31, UK
Tyreek Hill has called for the police officer involved in his traffic stop before Miami Dolphins' NFL season-opening match on September 8 to be fired.
Wide receiver Hill was pulled over by Miami-Dade police officers for a minor traffic violation, with bodycam footage released on Tuesday showing the altercation between officers and Hill, where the latter was dragged out of his car.
The officers swore at Hill but he did not resist their physical force or strike at them. Hill can be heard in the footage telling one officer: "Don't tell me what to do."
Now Hill - through his lawyer - has released a statement calling for "the termination of the officer who has been placed on administrative leave" following the incident.
In a letter seen by Sky Sports News, the statement said: "On at least two occasions, the escalating officer placed his hands on or around Mr Hills neck during the traffic stop.
"We are of the opinion that the officer's use of force was excessive, escalating, and reckless. We are demanding that the officer be terminated effective immediately.
"The events that occurred on Sunday September 8 are just a reminder of the realities of the many injustices that people of black and minority communities face at the hands of law enforcement.
"While we are in no way accusing the officer of being racist, we are accusing the customs and practices of law enforcement from a historical standpoint of being discriminatory and oppressive to black and minority communities. We cannot ignore this fact and remain silent on the issue just because it's a tough conversation."
Sky Sports News has contacted Miami-Dade police for a statement.
Video showed that two motorcycle officers went after Hill after he appeared to speed past them in his McLaren sports car on the road entering Hard Rock Stadium in light traffic - they later said they clocked him at 60mph.
They turned on their lights and pulled Hill over. One knocked on the driver's window and told him to put it down, which Hill did and handed him his driver's licence.
"Don't knock on my window like that," Hill told the officer repeatedly.
"I have to knock to let you know I am here," the officer told Hill while repeatedly asking why the player didn't have his seatbelt on.
"Just give me my ticket, bro, so I can go. I am going to be late. Do what you gotta do," Hill told the officer while putting his darkly-tinted window back up.
"Keep your window down," the officer told him, again tapping on the glass. Hill can still be seen inside.
Hill rolled the window down slightly and said, "Don't tell me what to do." He put the window back up.
Hill told CNN he did roll his window back up, citing concern about drawing unwanted attention to himself.
"If I let my window down, people walking by, driving by, they're going to notice that it's me," Hill said.
"And they're going to start taking pictures, and I didn't want to create a scene at all. Like, I just really wanted to get the ticket and then go on about my way."
The officer again told Hill to put his window back down or "I am going to get you out of the car. As a matter of fact, get out of the car."
The officer then demanded Hill open the door. Another officer stepped up and said, "Get out of the car or I will break that ... window," using an obscenity.
The door opened and the second officer reached in and grabbed Hill by the arm and the back of the head as the player said, "I am getting out."
Hill later guessed that he wasn't moving as quickly as the officers would have liked.
"I wasn't moving fast because I've got injuries," said Hill, who started his ninth NFL season. "I got things that I go through. I play a physical sport."
The second officer forced Hill face-first onto the ground. Three officers pulled Hill's arms behind his back as Hill yelled into his phone, "I am getting arrested Drew," talking to the Dolphins' director of security, Drew Brooks.
The officers handcuffed Hill and one put a knee in the middle of his back. "If we tell you to do something, do it."
"Take me to jail, brother, do what you gotta do," Hill replied.
"We are," an officer said.
"You crazy," Hill said to the officer.
The officers stood Hill up and walked him to the sidewalk. One officer told him to sit on the curb. Hill said to the officer he just had surgery on his knee.
An officer then jumped behind him and put a bar hold around Hill's upper chest or neck. He pulled Hill into a seating position.
"Chill, bro," Hill told the officers.
At that point, team-mate Jonnu Smith parked his SUV in front of Hill's car, got out and asked what was going on. The officers ordered Smith to get back in his vehicle and leave. They then told him they were going to give him a ticket for blocking the road.
Defensive tackle Calais Campbell also pulled up. He was told to leave and when he didn't, he was briefly handcuffed. Hill and Campbell were eventually released and allowed to go into the stadium.
Hill received citations for careless driving and failing to wear a seatbelt, but was never arrested, the video shows. One officer was placed on administrative leave. An internal affairs investigation has been launched.
The Dolphins, in a statement released Monday night, said they have a strong relationship with the police department but were "saddened" by the altercation.
"As is on full display in the videos released tonight, there are some officers who mistake their responsibility and commitment to serve with misguided power," the team said.
"While we commend MDPD for taking the right and necessary action to quickly release this footage, we also urge them to take equally swift and strong action against the officers who engaged in such despicable behaviour."
Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, defended the officer's actions, saying in a statement that Hill was not "immediately cooperative" with officers on the scene, that the officers followed their policy in handcuffing Hill, who was "redirected to the ground" after refusing to sit.
Julius B. Collins, Hill's attorney who appeared with him on CNN, said there was one officer who was the "most aggressive" but another who initially approached Hill's car was not aggressive at all. Neither was Hill, Collins added.
"You saw also, he put up his hands to show that he didn't have a firearm. He wasn't a threat and that he was complying with officers.
"As far as this statement goes, though, from the police union, I think the video contradicts everything that they're saying."
