DOLPHINS WR TYREEK HILL DETAINED BY POLICE WHILE GOING TO HARD ROCK STADIUM AHEAD OF JAGUARS GAME, ONE POLICE OFFICER PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE, SAYS MIAMI PD
Miami Dolphins superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill was pulled over by Miami Dade police and detained after a traffic incident on his way to Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, the team confirmed ahead of their 1pm opening game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A statement from the Dolphins read: “This morning, WR Tyreek Hill was pulled over for a traffic incident about one block from the stadium and briefly detained by police. He has since been released. Several teammates saw the incident and stopped to offer support. Tyreek and all other players involved have safely arrived to the stadium and will be available for today’s game.”
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Hill was stopped by police for a traffic violation before he was slammed to the ground, and handcuffed for an estimated period of five minutes before a conversation was had between the police and his agent Drew Rosenhaus. In the end, Hill received two citations: one for careless driving and another for seatbelt violation, as per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, before being eventually released.
Among the people that stopped to offer support for Hill and try to de-escalate the situation on Sunday was his teammate, Dolphins defensive end Calais Campbell, who told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe that he also got handcuffed by police when he tried to step in.
“You know actually, they put handcuffs on me too and I was like, ‘What is going on?’” said Campbell. “I didn’t understand what the issue [with me] was. For him to put handcuffs on me, I felt some kind of way but that just goes to show how resilient we are. We didn’t let that stop us [today]. We just got back in line, got focused again, and we went out there and played a good football game. But that was an interesting way to start the ball game.”
Miami-Dade Police Department director Stephanie V. Daniels released a statement moments later saying that she had requested a review of Tyreek Hill’s detainment, including body-cam footage.
“We are aware of the recent detainment of Miami Dolphins player Tyreek Hill by Miami-Dade Police Department officers,” said Daniels. “I have requested an immediate review of all details surrounding the incident, and we are also reviewing available body camera footage. We will provide updates as soon as further information becomes available.”
Hill went on to play in the game against the Jaguars a few hours later and cheekily responded to the incident with a “handcuffs” celebration after scoring an 80-yard receiving touchdown. Hill finished the game with 7 receptions for 130 receiving yards, helping the Dolphins earn a hard-fought 20-17 victory.
Miami-Dade PD confirmed shortly afterwards that one of the police officers involved in the incident had been placed on administrative leave while an investigation was being conducted. Miami-Dade PD Director Stephanie V. Daniels said that she had initiated an Internal Affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter. She also said that she was committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation regarding her police officers.
Hill told reporters after the game that he had no idea why he ended up in handcuffs and was still processing the whole situation. He said he was not disrespectful and did not use profanity toward the officers. “I’ve been trying to figure that out too, I’ve been trying to figure that out too,” said Hill. “Right now I’m still trying to put it all together so I’m not going to give you a version that I still don’t [fully] know what happened.”
“But I do want to say, I do want to be able to use this platform to say, ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ Like, worst case scenario, you know, because it’s crazy. Like I want to be a cop one day, I’ve got a state trooper hat, all that, so I’ve got a lot of respect for cops but obviously, everybody has bad apples in every situation.”
“It’s hard. I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what those guys would have done. I just wanted to make sure I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that — put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen.”
Upon being informed that one of the officers had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, Hill replied: “That should tell you everything you need to know.”
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL has been in contact with the Dolphins about Hill and Campbell being handcuffed by police ahead of the game but declined providing further comment.
Hill, however, did not appear vindictive about his next course of action and suggested teaming up with Miami-Dade Police and getting something positive out of the situation for the whole community.
“I want to be able to use this platform to figure out a way to flip this and make it a positive on both ends, on my end and then also, Miami Dade,” said the eight-time Pro Bowler. “So that way we continue together and you know, do something positive for the community because that’s what it’s all about. Like you guys are here to protect us as individuals and I have a platform and I want to be able to team up with you guys. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said in reaction to the incident: “I found out from a couple of guys, I didn’t know that it happened. And then [I] went up to ask Tyreek. Tyreek told me his story. I’m always going to support my teammate, you know, I’m always going to support my teammate. From what he told me, I only know that side of the story. I don’t know the other side but I’m always going to support him. I’m going to have his back. It was just an unfortunate deal that happened today.”
“Yeah, that was crazy,” said Dolphins safety Jevon Holland. “I was stretching and then I saw on the TV that bro got arrested. And then I saw the clip, the cop kicked him or something like that, that was crazy. So, that’s got to get handled. Excessive force on a black man, that’s not uncommon, it’s a very common thing in America. So, I think that needs to be addressed at a country-wide level.”
“I don’t think that [expletive] is cool at all but it’s not uncommon for cops to do that type of [expletive] especially to black men. That needs to be addressed, for sure.”
The police department subsequently released body cam footage of the incident which was circulated online Monday evening:
Miami will now turn their attention to the Buffalo Bills who will be coming to town for the Thursday night game in Week 2 on September 12th.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Gatorfan252525. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.