Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is calling for a police officer involved in a pregame incident Sunday, in which the star player was pulled over and then held to the ground and handcuffed, to be fired.
“It’s shell-shocking, man,” Hill said. “It’s really crazy to know that you have officers in this world that would literally do that with bodycams on. It’s really sad … what would they do if they didn’t have bodycams?”
He added that it was “embarrassing,” especially after his kids saw the video.
“It’s embarrassing because I’ve got kids, and when I Facetimed my kids, they were like ‘dad are you all right? Are you all right?” Hill said.
Hill was stopped by officers Sunday ahead of the team’s season opener. Police body camera footage of the incident, released Monday, showed officers asking Hill why he did not have his seat belt on.
Things escalated when Hill rolled up his window. When the officer ordered him to roll it down, Hill did so, though only partially, and the officer told him to get out of the car.
Then, another officer approached and opened the car door. He grabbed Hill by the back of the head and forced him onto the pavement face down. As Hill was handcuffed, the officer pressed a knee against his back.
Officers then picked the still-handcuffed Hill back up and led him to the sidewalk, where they asked him to sit. Hill asked them to slow down because he “just had surgery on my knee” as an officer grabbed him from behind around the neck and forced him into a seated position on the curb.
Hill said he could have responded to officer Danny Torres when he was initially stopped, but he added that the officers did not have the right to treat him as they did.
“Yes, I will say I could have been better. I could’ve let down my window in that instance,” Hill said. “At the end of the day, I’m human. I’ve got to follow rules, I got to do what everyone else would do. Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not.”
Now, Hill is calling for the officer involved to be fired.
“He’s gotta go man,” Hill said. “Because in that instance not only did he treat me bad, he treated my teammates with disrespect … he’s gotta go.”
