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Tyreek Hill is trying to turn his police detainment, which went viral and led to an officer being placed on leave, into a positive.
Hill, the Miami Dolphins star wide receiver, was pulled over on his way to Sunday’s game against the Falcons, for allegedly speeding, and was forcibly removed from his car, handcuffed and pushed to the ground after officers felt he wasn’t cooperating with them. The since-released body camera footage from Miami’s police department shows Hill being dragged from his car, placed on the ground with a knee on his back, and later put in a bar hold. The video also shows an officer threatening to break Hill’s car windows if he didn’t get out of the car.
The Dolphins released a statement defending Hill and called the police’s conduct “overly aggressive and violent.”
“I hate talking like this, man, because I have a kid fan base,” Hill said after Sunday’s game. “But the reality of it, yeah, it’s the truth. If I wasn’t Tyreek Hill, worst-case scenario, we would have had a different article — ‘Tyreek Hill got shot in front of Hard Rock Stadium.’ That’s worst-case scenario. Or ‘Tyreek Hill put in handcuffs and taken in and booked.’”
“We are working with the Dolphins to reach out to local enforcement leaders to set up a discussion with Tyreek and other Dolphin players,” Drew Rosenhaus, Hill’s agent, told Front Office Sports.
On Dan Le Batard’s show Tuesday morning, Rosenhaus said Hill “is in the process of trying to organize a forum discussion with the chief of police of Miami-Dade, anyone else here in South Florida that wants to get involved… Tyreek has said to me as traumatic as an event as this was, he wants to take this negative and turn it into a positive.”
The South Florida Police Benevolent Association released a statement defending its officers, saying Hill “was not immediately cooperative” with police officers on the scene. The officers followed policy when Hill was “redirected to the ground” after refusing to cooperate, according to the police statement.
Rosenhaus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hill’s teammates, Jonu Smith and Calais Campbell, were also involved after Smith pulled up in front of Hill’s car to see what was going on. Smith was ordered back in his car and told to pull away. Campbell was briefly handcuffed after not immediately leaving after he was told to.
Ultimately, Hill received citations for careless driving and failure to wear a seatbelt. Miami police said an internal investigation has been launched. The incident has revived discussions around police brutality and the realities faced by Black drivers.
Rosenhaus said on Le Batard’s show he and his client have discussed former NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick, who became a symbol of political activism in 2016 after kneeling during the National Anthem at the start of NFL games in protest of police brutality. Rosenhaus added that Hill has had conversations with the NFLPA, NFL senior vice president Troy Vincent, and the Dolphins about the situation and “everyone is behind Tyreek.”
On Monday night, Hill appeared on CNN with his attorney, Julius B. Collins, who said the police statement doesn’t add up.
“You saw also, he put up his hands to show that he didn’t have a firearm,” Collins said. “He wasn’t a threat and that he was complying with officers. I mean, you know, as far as this statement goes, though, from the police union, I think the video contradicts everything that they’re saying.”
It’s not the first time Hill has had legal issues. While in college at Oklahoma State, he was kicked off the team after being accused of punching his girlfriend and later pled guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation. While with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, prosecutors declined to charge Hill after an alleged domestic violence incident with his fiance and three-year-old child.
On CNN, Hill reiterated his point that he hopes to use this as a way to ignite change.
“I’m a good ‘ole country boy from South Georgia,” Hill said. “I’m not a big believer in dividing people.”
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