Star Football Player Pulled Out of Car, Detained by Miami Police
A routine stop for what was alleged to be a minor violation turned into an excessive force incident in which multiple black football players were placed in handcuffs.
(Screenshot of a YouTube video showing Tyreek Hill being arrested.)
On September 8, 2024, early in the 2024 NFL season, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was assaulted and detained by police officers following a traffic stop outside in Florida. Hill, who has earned over 119 million dollars during his career, was driving an expensive vehicle wearing a white tank top.
Officers accused Hill of speeding or a “minor traffic violation,” which included speeding up 60 mph in a residential zone, and not using a safety belt. He was cited a fine of 308 dollars.
Body camera footage posted to YouTube by WFAA 8, a Dallas NBC affiliate, shows an officer asking Hill to roll down his window. He then said Hill should roll down his window, or he will take Hill out of the car. Directly after making this warning, without giving Hill a chance to comply, he ordered Hill out of the car.
Four officers present at the scene participated in yanking Hill out of his car and forced him, chest-first, down on the pavement. This occurred 2 minutes and 28 seconds into the encounter. A line of police motorcycles can be seen as Hill said he was being arrested. An officer placed a knee on Hill’s back, who had to that point shown no signs of physical resistance.
Hill claimed he wasn’t moving fast because he had injuries from playing a physical sport.
“When we tell you to do something, you do it,” an officer on the video said. “You understand?…You’re a little fucking confused.”
At 3 minutes and 30 seconds, after the officer recording the footage opens a laptop, Hill goes to the ground, possibly forced by police, saying he just had surgery on his knee. A black man approaches the scene, and is shown with his hands in the air. He is asked to back up, and is threatened that he will be in handcuffs as well if he doesn’t comply.
“We’re not playing this game here, man. It’s not your business,” the officer said.
Hill would later call for the officer who cuffed and detained him to be fired, claiming he had “the dog” beat out of him.
Other black men who had exited their cars to see what was going on were told to get back in their cars and leave. If they did not comply, they would get a ticket. With a pair of handcuffs in hand, the officer asked the civilian for his license repeatedly. When the officer returned to his vehicle, a black box appeared, obstructing identifying information.
Then, when the first black man walked away from police after being told to leave, he was put in handcuffs.
Later in the video, Hill can be heard to say, “I’m just being a black man in America, that’s all.”
Around 15 minutes and 30 seconds, the video is muted while two officers confer with one another.
“I got a lot of respect for cops,” Hill said later at a press conference. “But obviously, everybody has bad apples in every situation.”
In a prepared statement, the Miami Dolphins organization wrote:
“We are saddened by the overly aggressive and violent conduct directed towards Tyreek Hill, Calais Campbell, and Jonnu Smith before yesterday’s game. It is both maddening and heartbreaking to watch the very people we trust to protect our community use such unnecessary force and hostility towards these players, yet it is also a reminder that not every situation like this ends in peace, as we are grateful this one did. ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ is a question that will carry with resounding impact.”
“You know, actually, they put handcuffs on me too,” Calais Campbell said in a post-game interview after his week 1 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. “I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ For him to put handcuffs on me, I felt some kinda way. But that just goes to show how resilient we are. We didn't let that stop us.”
Campbell, a long-tenured NFL veteran, claimed he arrived to de-escalate the situation. He claimed that officers had handcuffed him after alleging he had disobeyed their orders.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said, “It’s been hard to not find myself more upset the more I think about it. The thing that fucks me up being quite frank is I don’t know exactly what that feels like. Super proud of our guys understanding the civic responsibility of a platform.”
Julius B. Collins, Hill’s attorney said, “You saw also, he put up his hands to show that he didn’t have a firearm. 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.”
Before the afternoon game even started, an officer who had been working for 25 years, and appeared on the scene with a motor unit, was placed on administrative leave. No Dolphins player was prevented in playing in the game, which they won.
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