NFL pro Tyreek Hill in handcuffs: Criticism of harsh police action

On Sunday, Tyreek Hill scored a beautiful touchdown in his club’s 8:17 p.m. game between the Miami Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars to kick off the football season. But just a few hours before the game, the 30-year-old had an unpleasant encounter with the police on his way to the stadium. An officer on a motorcycle pulled him over because he was apparently driving too fast – and was not wearing a seatbelt.

In the video from the bodycam of a police officer who was present at the operation, Hill can be seen standing on the side of the road in a supercar. Shortly afterwards, more motorcycle police officers arrive. One of them comes to his car and knocks on the window, which Hill does not seem to like.

“Don’t knock on my window like that,” the football player repeatedly tells the officer as he hands him his papers through the lowered window. “Why is that even up there?” the police officer wants to know and explains to Hill that he has to knock to make himself known.

“Give me my ticket and let me go, I’m late. Just do what you have to do,” says Hill and rolls the window back up. The police officer repeats his request. Finally, he gets loud: “Keep your window down or I’ll get you out of the car,” the officer barks at him.

Tyreek Hill: “I wasn’t disrespectful”

Then everything happens very quickly. The officer and a colleague pull the wide receiver out of the car, put him on his stomach on the ground and handcuff him. “If we ask you to do something, you do it,” says one of the officers. After he is helped up, he is asked to sit on the sidewalk. But when he does not comply with this request, a police officer pushes him down from behind. “I had knee surgery,” explains Hill. But the officers are apparently not very interested in that.

Following the incident, Hill’s club, the Miami Dolphins, sharply criticized the behavior of the police officers. 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.

“We recognize that the vast majority of officers serve the community with the utmost character and a desire to protect all citizens,” the Hills club continued. “However, as is clearly seen in the videos released tonight, some officers confuse their responsibility and commitment to duty with misplaced power.” The NFL club is calling for swift and forceful action against the officers “who have exhibited such despicable behavior.”

Hill later stressed that he had behaved correctly towards the officers: “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 that.”

Reactions to X: “He got away with it because… uh, Tyreek Hill.”

On X, formerly known as Twitter, reactions vary:
“A lot of blame including Tyreek who didn’t want to comply and let things escalate when they didn’t have to AND the cops who were overly aggressive,” reads one comment.

Another read: “What law did Tyreek Hill break when officers dragged him out and handcuffed him? This is absurd, a clear case of abuse of power and violation of his rights. Unnecessary and unacceptable.”

“If I had been caught, I would probably spend the day in jail. He got away because… he’s Tyreek Hill.”

“They did their job. Tyreek Hill could have acted like a grown man and just done what they asked. Crisis averted.”

A police officer has now been suspended

According to media reports, one of the officers was initially suspended. “That tells you everything you need to know,” commented Hill when he heard about it after the game. Calais Campbell, Hill’s teammate who tried to come to his aid and was himself handcuffed for a short time, said: “That makes sense.” In his opinion, the situation was “extreme.”

Hill’s manager Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN about the moving images of the arrest that were circulating: “This is crazy, I’ve never seen anything like it.” For him, the police’s actions were “completely unnecessary.” But the most important thing is “that Tyreek is OK, physically and mentally.”

Watch the video above: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers win their first NFL game of the season – thanks in large part to their offense led by top quarterback Baker Mayfield. All highlights in the video.

with DPA