Miami Dolphins: NFL club speaks of “insane and heartbreaking” police violence against professional Tyreek Hill

The Miami Dolphins have sharply criticized the behavior of police officers during a brief arrest of NFL professional Tyreek Hill before the season opener. In a statement, they said: “It is both insane and heartbreaking to see the very people we trust to protect our community use such unnecessary violence.” Hill’s teammates Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith were also involved in the incident.

Smith said everyone “of course sees the police brutality in this country. And when you see your teammate potentially being part of it, you do everything in your power to help them.” Hill appears to have been pulled over for speeding and reckless driving himself.

A video from the body camera of a police officer who was on the scene shows two motorcycle officers chasing Hill after he sped past them in his McLaren sports car in light traffic on the driveway to Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins wide receiver was on his way to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The officers stopped him. One of the officers knocked on the car’s window and told him to roll it down, which Hill did and handed over his license.

However, “don’t knock on my window like that,” Hill repeatedly told the officer. “I have to knock so you know I’m here,” the officer told Hill while repeatedly asking why the player was not wearing a seatbelt. “Just give me my ticket so I can leave.” I’m going to be late. “Do what you have to do,” Hill told the officers as he rolled his dark-tinted window back up. “Keep the window down,” the officer said, knocking on the window again. Hill rolled the window down slightly and said, “Don’t tell me what to do.” He then closed the window again.

Hill celebrates touchdown with handcuff victory dance

Hill admitted in retrospect that he knew he had to follow the instructions “that have been passed down in black families for generations: keep your hands in sight, preferably on the steering wheel. Avoid any sudden movements. Don’t argue with the police officer. And above all: follow the instructions without mistakes or delays.”

Hill later told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he rolled his window back up because he was afraid of attracting unwanted attention. “If I roll my window down, people walking or driving by are going to notice that it’s me,” Hill said. “And they’re going to start taking pictures, and I didn’t want to make a scene at all. I just wanted to pick up the ticket and then drive on.”

As a result, another police officer forcefully opens the driver’s door, Hill is pulled out of the car and pushed to the ground. The words “If we tell you to do something, do it” can be heard. An officer presses his knee into Hill’s back. The 30-year-old is handcuffed.

Hill’s club, the Miami Dolphins, condemned the action. “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 serve the community with the utmost character and a desire to protect all citizens.” However, as can be clearly seen in the videos released, some officers confuse their responsibility and commitment to duty with misplaced power,” the club said in a statement.

The NFL club is calling for swift and forceful action against the officials “who engaged in such despicable behavior” and assured the players that it will stand by them “as they work to use their platform and turn this situation into a positive impact on our community.”

Hill, who had an 80-yard touchdown in a 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars to start the season and mimicked being handcuffed during his victory dance in the end zone, stressed after the game that he behaved correctly towards the officials: “I was not disrespectful, that’s not how my mother raised me.” I didn’t swear, none of that. Like I said, I’m still trying to understand it. “It happened so fast that I was completely surprised.” “He had never seen anything like it,” Hill’s manager Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN. One of the officials was initially suspended.

The top official of the Miami-Dade Police Department involved in the incident, Director Stephanie Daniels, told the Miami Herald newspaper on Monday that the decision to place the officers on leave was made after a review of body camera footage, which would not normally be released during an ongoing investigation but in this case was released to maintain “public trust.”

Hill’s traffic stop echoes a nationwide law enforcement survey that shows that the threat or use of force is more likely to be made against black drivers than other Americans. For many, Hill’s encounter with police highlights that black men in particular are disproportionately likely to experience the same things he did. On Sunday, other black Dolphins players said they were used to the kind of police behavior Hill experienced. “I don’t want to say it was scary.” “It’s something I’m used to seeing,” linebacker David Long Jr. said.

Dolphins safety Jevon Holland said it was “not unnatural” to see police conduct traffic stops this way – including what the footage appeared to show: an officer hitting his handcuffed teammate.