Tyreek Hill’s violent assault case is still ongoing, but one thing has become clear. From the moment a Miami-Dade police officer yanked the Dolphins’ star player to the ground by his neck in his gull-wing McLaren on Sept. 8, routine traffic stops in South Florida became a painful reminder of black driving and police use of force. It has become part of the national debate.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about what happened when the Dolphins’ star player was pulled over for speeding near Hard Rock Stadium. But it is becoming clear that police missed an opportunity to defuse the situation, which arose when Hill failed to comply with police orders to roll down his car window.
Body camera footage released by Miami-Dade police the next night was enlightening. It shows a rapidly escalating situation. An officer told Hill to roll down his window, but when he failed to do so, the officer quickly dragged the 30-year-old football player out of the car and told him he would no longer play the game. Hill was handcuffed and driven out into the street. When he later stood up, he was kicked to the ground a second time, still handcuffed.
Drivers near the stadium recorded the encounter and posted cell phone footage. Watching this video is like getting punched in the stomach. The NFL star lies face down on the sidewalk, his hands tied behind his back, with one police officer kneeling on his back and other officers surrounding him. How many echoes of terrible encounters from the past are contained in this image?
The community and national debate this has generated is vital. Did the police overreact? How much of an impact did Hill’s actions have on what happened?
The aftermath is just beginning. One officer, Danny Torres, a 27-year veteran, has been placed on administrative duty while an internal investigation is conducted. The mayor of Miami-Dade released a statement saying, “The officer who detained him acted in a very concerning manner.” Two candidates running for Miami-Dade sheriff told the Miami Herald editorial board they were disturbed by what they saw in the video.
Rosie Cordero-Stutz, the Republican candidate for sheriff and county police administrator who was on leave during the election, called what she saw “unacceptable behavior from any law enforcement officer.” Her Democratic rival, James Reiss, who oversees the police department’s chief safety officer, said he was “concerned” by police use of profanity (Hill was reprimanded by an officer for “f——-g confusion”) and that he This was criticized for its “rudeness”.
Hill’s actions were not perfect. The wide receiver said last Wednesday: “I will tell you it could have been better. I could have rolled down the window at that moment, but my problem is that I don’t want to attract attention. “That’s when the camera comes out and you don’t want your phone chasing you.”
Police officers risk their lives when they pull someone over. Curled tinted windows naturally raise concerns. In this case, Hill was initially compliant because he had already surrendered his license when the window was put back up.
Still, failure to follow lawful orders from police is a serious matter, and Hill said at a press conference: “I have to follow the rules, I have to do what everyone else has to do. Now, do they have the right to literally knock me out? “Absolutely not,” he said. Hill is no stranger to law enforcement, having pleaded guilty in 2015 to a domestic assault charge for strangling his pregnant girlfriend to death.
He also called for Torres to be fired, saying the officer “must disappear. Sarah. Sarah. “Sarah,” he said.
It is still unclear how Miami-Dade police and the community will overcome this difficult moment. But the work has begun. Miami-Dade County’s Black Affairs Advisory Board last week discussed the inhumane nature of such encounters, Hill’s actions and questions about police de-escalation.
Trust in law enforcement is important. Moments like these can erode trust or help build it.
