MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — A police officer has been placed on administrative leave following an incident where Tyreek Hill, a star wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, was handcuffed and held face down on the ground outside the team’s home stadium. This occurred during a traffic stop on Sunday morning, just hours before Hill was set to play in his first game of the season.
The officer involved has not been named and was part of a larger group of at least three officers who detained Hill. According to Hill, he was pulled over for speeding and reckless driving. Some fans witnessed the event and recorded it as they made their way to the game, with the footage going viral on social media shortly after.
Stephanie V. Daniels, the Miami-Dade Police director, announced that an internal investigation is now underway.
After being informed about the officer’s leave pending the investigation’s findings, Hill commented, “that should tell you everything you need to know.”
Defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who also briefly found himself handcuffed while trying to support Hill, remarked, “That makes sense based on the situation.”
Hill expressed his confusion over why he was treated that way, stating that he holds police officers in high regard and aspires to join their ranks after his football career. He insisted he wasn’t disrespectful during the encounter, saying, “I didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. Like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.”
Reflecting on the situation, he noted he did not want to leverage his fame to alter the outcome but questioned how things might have unfolded if he were not an NFL player. “I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do,” Hill remarked. “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done. I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that: ‘Just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen.’”
Earlier on Sunday, Daniels stated that she had requested an “immediate review” of the incident, including a review of any available body camera footage.
She later affirmed her commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability regarding her officers’ actions in such incidents.
Hill explained that everything unfolded quickly and left him feeling blindsided. “I’m just glad that my teammates were there to support me because I felt alone,” he added.
Citing the urgency of the situation, Campbell said he was driving into Hard Rock Stadium when he spotted Hill in handcuffs. He pulled over to assist, but soon found himself in handcuffs as well, with officers claiming he had disobeyed their orders. “I’d seen, I felt like, excessive force, so I get out of the car to try to de-escalate the situation,” Campbell noted, calling the encounter “a bit extreme.”
Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards this season, spoke to his wife and family following the incident before heading into the game. He went on to lead Miami’s receiving group with seven catches for 130 yards, scoring an 80-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which helped the Dolphins win against the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-17. In a symbolic celebration, Hill pretended to be handcuffed by putting his hands behind his back after the touchdown.
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, described the situation as “heartbreaking” during an interview on ESPN. “How things escalated into the situation where they were in handcuffs and being held on the ground by police is mindboggling to me,” he said. “I’m deeply concerned by that. Very troubled. We will be looking into it. We will investigate this further. The most important thing is that Tyreek is okay physically, though mentally he was very distressed about what happened.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed that the league has been in communication with the Miami Dolphins but declined to provide further comments.
___
For more NFL news, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
