Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill may consider legal action against Miami-Dade County following his detainment on Sunday before his team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A body camera video released on Monday shows an officer dragging Hill out of his McLaren after he was pulled over for suspected careless driving and not wearing a seatbelt, as required by Florida law. Hill was not arrested, and officers can legally detain someone if they have reasonable suspicion of a legal violation.
The video captures officers on motorcycles interacting with Hill, who rolled down his tinted window after an officer knocked. Hill handed over his driver’s license, and when asked why he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, Hill responded, “Don’t knock on my window like that.” The officer explained he needed to knock to get Hill’s attention and repeated the seatbelt question. Hill responded, “just give me my ticket bro” and rolled the window up again.
The officer then instructed Hill to keep the window down, leading to a back-and-forth where Hill initially complied but then rolled the window back up. This prompted the officer to knock on the window again, escalating the situation. Multiple officers then ordered Hill to exit the vehicle. When he didn’t comply immediately, he was forcibly removed from the car, pushed face-first to the ground with an officer’s knee on his back. Hill did not appear to threaten or resist the officers.
Hill, who maintains he did nothing wrong, was told by an officer, “when we tell you to do something, you do it!” and “too late, too late!” He was handcuffed and helped up from the ground while asking why the officers were “beating on my window like you are all crazy?”
While Hill was detained on the curb, an officer ordered him to sit, which he resisted due to recent knee surgery. Another officer physically forced him to sit.
During the roughly five-minute detainment, Hill’s teammate Jonnu Smith arrived and reported on his phone that the police were rough with Hill. Hill asked Smith to call Drew Brooks, the Dolphins’ director of security.
After about five minutes, Hill was uncuffed and released with citations for careless driving and not wearing a seatbelt. Despite the incident, Hill played in the Dolphins’ 20-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, leading the team with seven catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.
In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Hill explained that he rolled up his window not to defy or disrespect the officers but to avoid drawing attention from other drivers and pedestrians.
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