Body camera footage released on Monday depicted an incident involving Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, which escalated from a minor traffic stop into a confrontation that the Dolphins described as “despicable” police behavior.
In a strong statement issued late Monday, the Dolphins sided with Hill and criticized the Miami-Dade Police Department for allegedly breaching the public’s trust with what they deemed unnecessary force during the encounter. While acknowledging their generally positive relationship with the department, the team expressed concern over the treatment Hill received when he was pulled over near Hard Rock Stadium before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Dolphins stated, “As shown in the videos released tonight, some officers confuse their duty to serve with an abuse of power.” They urged the police department to take decisive action against those officers involved in the incident, while also commending the department for promptly releasing the footage.
The video shows an officer pulling over Hill’s vehicle for speeding and instructing him to pull forward. After knocking on Hill’s window, the officer questioned why he was not wearing a seatbelt. Hill repeatedly emphasized that he did not appreciate the manner in which the officer knocked on his window.
The officer insisted that he had to knock to get Hill’s attention, prompting Hill to say he was running late and asked for a ticket instead. The exchange escalated as Hill rolled his window up, leading the officer to demand it remain down, threatening to remove Hill from the car. Another officer warned Hill about possibly breaking his window if he did not comply.
As Hill attempted to exit the vehicle, officers forcibly removed him and placed him face-down on the ground, where an officer admonished him for not complying. Hill later expressed that the encounter escalated quickly from a simple traffic stop to a severe confrontation.
Following the incident, Hill’s fellow teammates Jonnu Smith and Calais Campbell arrived to assist him, but Campbell was also handcuffed during the situation. Campbell remarked on ESPN’s “First Take” that he tried to help defuse the situation, emphasizing that he felt one officer was particularly excessive in his actions, while others seemed to follow suit.
Hill received a citation for reckless driving, a violation his agent argued did not warrant the aggressive response from police. In their statement, the Dolphins expressed sadness about the violent actions directed toward Hill and his teammates, deeming the scenario both “maddening” and “heartbreaking.”
Miami-Dade Police Director Stephanie Daniels announced on Sunday the initiation of an internal affairs investigation. One officer involved has been reassigned to administrative duties pending the investigation’s conclusion. The police department had not yet responded to the Dolphins’ comments regarding the incident.
The attorney representing the officer placed on administrative duties stated that the decision was premature and called for the officer’s immediate reinstatement, pending a thorough investigation.