MIAMI, Sept. 10 (UPI) — The Miami Dolphins responded to release of body camera footage of police detaining Tyreek Hill, urging officials to take “strong action” against the officers involved.
“We are saddened by the overly aggressive and violent conduct directed toward Tyreek Hill,” the Dolphins said in a statement Monday night.
The Miami-Dade Police Department on Monday night released more than 100 minutes of footage of the incident. The videos show several officers interacting with Hill after pulling him over outside of Hard Rock Stadium just hours before the Dolphins’ season opener Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Officers are shown exchanging words with Hill before pulling him out of his car, pinning him to the ground and placing him in handcuffs. Hill, who was not arrested, eventually was allowed to leave and played in the game.
“We are proud to have a strong and positive relationship with the Miami-Dade Police Department and other law enforcement agencies and recognize that the vast majority of officers do serve the community with the utmost character and desire to protect all citizens,” the Dolphins said.
“However, as is on full display in the videos released [Monday], there are some officers who mistake their responsibility and commitment to serve with misguided power.
“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 behavior.”
The NFL did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
The police footage first shows an officer on a motorcycle approaching Hill, who was driving a McLaren 720S with the driver-side window down.
The officer, who told Hill he was speeding, directs him to pull up to a curb. He then walks up to his window, which Hill put up. The officer then knocked on Hill’s window, which the NFL star lowered. Hill then handed his license to the officer before the two argued about Hill putting his window up.
Hill then told the officer to give him a ticket before putting his window back up.
“Keep your window down or I’m going to get you out of the car,” the officer said. “As a matter of fact, get out of the car.”
Hill told the officer not to tell him what to do, while another officer threatened to break the car’s window. The NFL star then said he was getting out of the car and opened the door.
One of the officer’s then shouted “get out,” before putting his hands on Hill’s arm and neck area to pull him out of the car. Three officers then pinned Hill to the ground, with one using his knee to keep him pressed to the pavement.
“Take me to jail,” Hill said. “Do what you gotta do.”
“We are,” an officer responded. “We will.”
The officers proceeded to put Hill in handcuffs as he continued to exchange words with them. One of the officers then forced Hill to sit down on the curb, placing one arm around his neck and another on his shoulder before returning his hands to his neck area once he was down, as the Dolphins wide receiver told him he recently had surgery on his knee.
“Did you have surgery on your ears when we told you to put your window down?” the officer shouted.
The footage goes on to show several of Hill’s Dolphins teammates, including fellow team captain Calais Campbell, stopping at the scene. Campbell put both hands in the air as he approached the area and was told to back up. He complied, but was later placed in handcuffs and briefly detained.
Hill was cited for not wearing a seatbelt, in addition to careless driving. The footage showed the NFL star shaking hands with all of the officers before he walked away from the scene and went into the stadium.
Miami-Dade Police Department Director Stephanie V. Daniels announced Sunday that one of the officers involved was under investigation and placed on administrative duties during an internal affairs investigations, which remains ongoing.
“The department is committed to conducting a thorough, objective investigation into this matter, and we will continue to update the public on the outcome of that process,” Daniels said.
Hill, who told reporters Sunday that he had “no idea” why he was place din handcuffs, appeared on several news platforms after the footage was released. He said he rolled his window back up after being asked to put it down because he didn’t want to “create a scene” with fans and onlookers taking pictures.
Hill told CNN that he was still “shellshocked” and “embarrassed” from the incident.
“If I wasn’t Tyreek Hill, we would have had a different article,” Hill said. “‘Tyreek Hill got shot in front of Hard Rock Stadium.’ That’s the worst-case scenario. Or ‘Tyreek Hill put in handcuffs and taken in and booked.’ It’s crazy that me and my family had to go through this.”
Steadman Stahl, the president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said Monday that Hill was detained “for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger.”
Stahl also said Hill was “redirected to the ground” because he was uncooperative.
“In this case, while we will wait for the investigation to run its course. Based on what we know, we stand with the actions of our officers, but look forward to further open communication moving forward,” Stahl said.
pic.twitter.com/Wz6mQt3Owc— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 10, 2024
Hill said Monday that he wanted to use his platform to “make a change” as a result of the incident.
“We’ve tried it all,” Hill said. “We’ve done protests. We even took a knee. We did walks. What’s next? Right now, me and my wife, we are brainstorming on how can we be a part of this change. It’s important to us because we want to be able to change lives all the way across the world, not just Miami.”
His wife was not with him in the car, but headed to the game separately.
Hill and the Dolphins will host the Buffalo Bills in their second game of the season at 8:15 p.m. EDT Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium.
“We will stand beside Tyreek and our players as they work to use their platform and this situation to make a positive impact in our community,” the Dolphins said.
