Tyreek Hill, an American football player, has demanded the firing of the Miami police officer who stopped and handcuffed him following a routine traffic stop.
“Gone, vanished, vanished. “He needs to go, man,” Hill remarked on Wednesday during a press conference.
The wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins also acknowledged his own guilt, stating, “I wish I could go back… and do things a bit differently.”
The altercation on Sunday happened just hours before the football star’s season opener, during which Hill was forced to lie face down while a policeman knelt on his back.
“I was not at my best. In that case, I could have opened my window,” Hill remarked. “I am a human being at the end of the day. I have to abide by the regulations. I have to follow everyone else’s lead.
Does that mean they can now literally beat the very hell out of me? Definitely not.”
Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith, two of Hill’s Miami Dolphins teammates, also got involved as they pulled down beside the road to see the event happen.
Hill claimed that the cops “disrespected my teammates.”
Campbell states that he was also placed in handcuffs. After the incident, everyone was released shortly after.
The Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, home of the Dolphins, is just a few blocks away from the scene of the traffic stop.
Releasing body camera footage, Hill was seen being abrasive with police at times, including asking one of them to “don’t knock on my window like that”.
After speaking with the police, Hill rolled down his window and then up, which prompted one of the officers to order him to roll it back down. Shortly after, the policeman spoke the words, “Actually, exit the vehicle.”
There were several policemen present. Two officers took Hill out of his car and laid him face down on the pavement. Then, one of the officers knelt on his back to handcuff and restrain him.
One of the involved cops was placed on administrative leave after the incident.
An internal affairs investigation is currently ongoing, according to Stephanie V. Daniels, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Hill received tickets for reckless driving and not fastening his seatbelt.
Steadman Stahl, head of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, issued a statement endorsing Miami police.
He called Hill “uncooperative” and stated that the police were operating in accordance with the rules.
“Shell-shocking” was how Hill described the series of events during the press conference on Wednesday.
“It’s really crazy to know that you have officers in this world [who] would do that with body cameras on,” Hill remarked. “What would they do if they didn’t have body cams?”
His interaction with the police occurred at a time when the national conversation over policing and race has returned.
Jury selection for the trial of three former Memphis police officers implicated in Tyre Nichols’ death commenced the day following his incarceration.
After a routine traffic check, Mr. Nichols was pepper sprayed, tasered, and punched by several police officers. He died a few days later.
In one of the largest predominantly Black communities in the country, Mr. Nichols’s killing prompted calls for reform and rallies against police brutality.
“What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?” the Dolphins star questioned following his Sunday game.
