A police officer dragged Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill out of his sports car by his arm and head and then forced him face-first onto the ground after Hill put up the window of his car during a traffic stop before Sunday’s game, body camera video released Monday shows.
The video showed that the altercation between the Miami-Dade County officers and Hill escalated quickly. The officers cursed at Hill but he did not resist their physical force or strike at them. He did tell one officer, “Don’t tell me what to do.” Six officers’ body camera videos have been released.
Police Director Stephanie Davis said the tape would normally not be released while the investigation is ongoing, but she wanted to demonstrate the department’s “commitment to transparency and maintaining public trust.”
In a CNN interview later Monday night, the 30-year-old NFL star said he was “embarrassed” and “shell-shocked” by the situation.
Video shows that two motorcycle officers went after Hill after he appeared to speed past them at in his McLaren sports car on the roadway entering Hard Rock Stadium in light traffic — they later said they clocked him at 60 mph (97 kph). They turned on their lights and pulled Hill over. One knocked on the driver’s window and told him to put it down, which Hill did and handed him his driver’s license.
“Don’t knock on my window like that,” Hill told the officer repeatedly.
“I have to knock to let you know I am here,” the officer told Hill while repeatedly asking why the player didn’t have his seatbelt on.
“Just give me my ticket, bro, so I can go. I am going to be late. Do what you gotta do,” Hill told the officer while putting his darkly tinted window back up.
“Keep your window down,” the officer told him, again tapping on the glass. Hill can still be seen inside.
Hill rolled the window down slightly and said, “Don’t tell me what to do.” He put the window back up.
Hill told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he did roll his window back up, citing concern about drawing unwanted attention to himself.
“If I let my window down, people walking by, driving by, they’re going to notice that it’s me,” Hill said. “And they’re going to start taking pictures, and I didn’t want to create a scene at all. Like, I just really wanted to get the ticket and then go on about my way.”
The officer again told Hill to put his window back down or “I am going to get you out of the car. As a matter of fact, get out of the car.”
The officer then demanded Hill open the door. Another officer stepped up and said, “Get out of the car or I will break that … window,” using an obscenity.
The door opened and the second officer reached in and grabbed Hill by the arm and the back of the head as the player said, “I am getting out.”
Hill later guessed that he wasn’t moving as quickly as the officers would have liked.
“I wasn’t moving fast because I’ve got injuries,” said Hill, who started his ninth NFL season. “I got things that I go through. I play a physical sport.”
The second officer forced Hill face-first onto the ground. Three officers pulled Hill’s arms behind his back as Hill yelled into his cellphone, “I am getting arrested Drew,” talking to the Dolphins’ director of security, Drew Brooks.
The officers handcuffed Hill and one put a knee in the middle of his back. “If we tell you to do something, do it.”
“Take me to jail, brother, do what you gotta do,” Hill replied.
“We are,” an officer said.
“You crazy,” Hill said to the officer.
The officers stood Hill up and walked him to the sidewalk. One officer told him to sit on the curb. Hill said to the officer he just had surgery on his knee.
An officer then jumped behind him and put a bar hold around Hill’s upper chest or neck. He pulled Hill into a seating position.
“Chill, bro,” Hill told the officers.
===================
WCNC Charlotte considers multiple perspectives and provides diverse points of view. We actively listen, respond and involve our community in a two-way conversation. We find solutions to problems and get the answers that matter most to the communities we serve. We are transparent about our process, data and sources to build trust and VERIFY facts. Join in, share your thoughts and connect with new perspectives.
Subscribe to WCNC Charlotte for exclusive content:
Download our WCNC Charlotte news app:
Follow WCNC Charlotte on social:
Facebook:
X:
Instagram:
