Tyreek Hill’s traffic citations from a viral arrest in September were quietly dropped Tuesday after the officers failed to appear in court.
His lawyer says, though, that Hill is still seeking more documentation before proceeding with a planned lawsuit.
The officers who issued the citations against the Dolphins star wide receiver, in what became a viral moment before the team’s September season-opener, failed to appear in court Monday, which led to their dismissal. Hill was ticketed for careless driving and failing to wear a seat belt on his way to the stadium. The stop escalated after police pulled Hill from his car, forced him to the ground and handcuffed him, all while he was on the phone with team security.
“Where all the internet cops now,” Hill wrote Tuesday.
Miami-Dade’s police department told Front Office Sports that the officers failing to appear in court was not planned, and was an “oversight.”
“The Miami-Dade Police Department is aware that a docket of citations issued to multiple individuals including the non-criminal citations issued to Mr. Tyreek Hill have been dismissed because the officer did not attend the hearing,” the department said in a statement to FOS. “A citation dismissed due to this reason does not indicate that the citation held no merit. An internal review as to why the officer did not appear in court has revealed an oversight on his behalf. This matter will be handled administratively.”
Danny Torres, the officer who pulled Hill from his car and forcibly handcuffed him, was placed on administrative leave shortly after the video went viral.
Stephanie Daniels, Miami-Dade PD’s director, announced an internal investigation to review the incident, the day it occurred.
“I’m committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers,” Daniels said in a statement. No outcome of the investigation has been released yet.
Hill had previously called for Torres to be fired.
“Each action that a law enforcement official takes is governed by standard operating procedures,” Hill said in a statement two days after the arrest. “We are of the opinion that the officer’s use of force was excessive, escalating, and reckless. We are demanding that the officer be terminated effective immediately.”
Hill’s attorney, Julius Collins, told FOS the Dolphins star still plans to pursue legal action against the department.
“We are still waiting for additional documentation from MDPD and information from internal affairs from their investigation before we proceed with legal action,” Collins said.
“As anticipated, the traffic citations against Tyreek Hill were dismissed,” Collins said Tuesday in a statement with fellow attorneys Devon Jacob, Stephen Kelly, and Jeffrey Neiman. “Police officers should not issue citations unless they are willing to testify in court, under oath, with respect to same. Officer Torres and [Manuel] Batista’s absence from court today evidences their knowledge of wrongdoing. These officers should be disciplined for their failure to appear. Mr. Hill was entitled to have his day in court and the officers failed to appear.”
Video from the incident shows officers dramatically escalating the traffic stop. After pulling over Hill for allegedly speeding, officers pulled him out of the car. They then shoved him to the ground, placed 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 events that occurred on Sunday, September 8, 2024, are just a reminder of the realities of the many injustices that people of black and minority communities face at the hands of law enforcement,” Collins said in a joint statement with Hill days after the incident. “While we are in no way accusing the officer of being racist, we are accusing the customs and practices of law enforcement from a historical standpoint of being discriminatory and oppressive to black and minority communities. We cannot ignore this fact and remain silent on the issue just because it’s a tough conversation.”
“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,’” Hill said the day of the incident. “That’s worst-case scenario. Or ‘Tyreek Hill put in handcuffs and taken in and booked.’”
The Dolphins called Miami-Dade’s police’s treatment of Hill “overly aggressive and violent conduct” in its statement after the incident while adding the organization has “a strong and positive relationship” with the police department.
“Everyone is behind Tyreek,” Drew Rosenhaus, Hill’s agent told Dan Le Batard days after the detainment.
Rosenhaus previously told FOS in an email, “We are working with the Dolphins to reach out to local enforcement leaders to set up a discussion with Tyreek and other Dolphin players.” Collins said a discussion did eventually take place.
