The largest police union in Florida is backing its members after a Sunday morning incident involving Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill and officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Hill was pulled over by cops for allegedly driving recklessly as he made his way to Hard Rock Stadium for Miami’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Video of the incident went viral, showing Hill lying on the ground, handcuffed.
Hours after the video of the arrest made the rounds on social media, the Miami-Dade Police Department announced that one of the officers involved had been placed on administrative leave while the department investigated the incident.
Now, the South Florida Police Benevolent Association has made a statement defending the officers’ actions.
Steadman Stahl, the head of the police union, says Hill was detained to preserve “officer safety after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger.”
Stahl continued, “Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground.”
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has a different take on the events that transpired and how the officers discharged their duties.
“What happened today to Tyreek at the stadium is completely unacceptable,” Rosenhaus said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Tyreek did not deserve to be treated that way by the police involved. Tyreek’s legal team will be pursuing this matter on Tyreek’s behalf, and I’m sure they will consider taking legal action.”
For his part, Hill denies disrespecting the officers.
“I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way,” Hill said. “Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. Like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.”
Hill continued, “I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done. I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that, ‘Just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen.’”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
