MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers outside Hard Rock Stadium during a traffic stop before the team’s game on Sunday, triggering a national debate on whether the treatment was justified.
Hill, 30, was pushed onto the ground face-first, handcuffed and then was again forced to the ground despite his complaint that sitting on the curb caused pain in his surgically repaired knee.
Hill was eventually released after receiving citations for careless driving and failing to wear his seat belt — the total fine is $309. His salary this season is almost $20 million. Hours later, he caught an 80-yard touchdown pass that sparked the Dolphins’ comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Police Department Director Stephanie Daniels put Officer Danny Torres on administrative duty, and an internal affairs investigation is underway. The department released the identity of Torres, a 27-year veteran of the department, on Tuesday.
How did the altercation start?
WHAT WE KNOW: Officer body camera video released late Monday by the Miami-Dade Police Department shows that about three hours before kickoff Sunday, two motorcycle officers were parked on an access road south of the stadium when Hill sped past in his McLaren sports car. They immediately went in pursuit. They later said he was going 60 mph (97 kph).
Hill slowed and put down his window. An officer pulled alongside and told him to pull over. He did, but put his window back up.
The officer got off his motorcycle, walked to the car and tapped on Hill’s window.
Hill lowered his window and told the officer, “Don’t knock on my window like that” while handing the officer his driver’s license.
The officer asked Hill why he didn’t have his seat belt on. Hill again told the officer not to knock on his window.
“Why you have it up? I have to knock to let you know I am here,” the officer replied.
“Give me my ticket, bro, so I can go. I am gonna be late. Do what you gotta do,” Hill told the officer.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: The first officer’s full name — the department did not release it and did not immediately respond to a request for it. He is listed on Hill’s tickets as “M. Batista.”
How did the traffic stop escalate?
WHAT WE KNOW: After demanding his ticket, Hill again put up his window.
“Keep it down,” Batista snapped, rapping on the window with his knuckle. Hill can be seen through the tinted window buckling his seat belt.
Hill cracked his window and said, “Don’t tell me what to do” before he again put the window up.
“Keep the window down or I am going to get you out of the car. As a matter of fact, get out of the car,” the officer said.
Torres, who is standing to the side, then orders Hill to get out or “I am going to break that … window,” using an obscenity.
Torres then pulled the door open, grabbed Hill by the arm and the back of the neck and forced him face-first onto the ground as the player said, “I am getting out.” Torres, the first officer and a third then pinned Hill, pulled his arms behind him and handcuffed him. One officer put his knee into Hill’s back. It had been exactly one minute since the officer first tapped on Hill’s window.
Hill yelled into his cellphone, “I am being arrested, Drew.” He had placed a call to team security director Drew Brooks while still in the car.
Torres told Hill that he is going to obey their orders, again cursing at him. Hill told them, “take me to jail, do what you gotta do.”
“We will,” Torres replied.
Why didn’t Hill keep his window down, and does Florida law require drivers to do so during a traffic stop?
WHAT WE KNOW: Hill told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Monday night that he didn’t keep the window down because he didn’t want to create a scene as fans arrived.
“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.”
But Florida’s traffic code says it is a misdemeanor to disobey a police officer’s “lawful order or direction.” That also requires drivers and passengers to get out of a car during a traffic stop if ordered. Hill said he was getting out as fast as he could, but injuries that he is playing through slowed him down.
Seven seconds elapsed between the first officer ordering Hill out of the car and Torres pulling open the door.
Has Hill had any previous interactions with police?
WHAT WE KNOW: Hill was accused of punching his girlfriend in college and got kicked off the team at Oklahoma State University, later pleading guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation. In 2019, prosecutors in suburban Kansas City declined to charge Hill after an alleged domestic violence incident involving his fiancée and their 3-year-old child.
Florida records do not show Hill receiving any prior traffic tickets in the state. He joined the Dolphins in March 2022.
What happened after Hill was handcuffed?
WHAT WE KNOW: The officers pulled Hill to his feet and took him to the sidewalk, where they ordered him to sit on the curb. He told officers he’d had knee surgery and he couldn’t. Torres jumped behind him, put his arm around Hill’s upper chest or neck and forced him to sit.
Hill’s teammates Jonnu Smith and Calais Campbell stopped their vehicles after seeing Hill in handcuffs and tried to speak to officers, but they are told to leave. Officers briefly put Campbell in handcuffs after accusing him of not obeying their order to move back.
Police supervisors arrived and discussed the situation with the officers. The department deleted most of the audio from those conversations.
About 25 minutes after Hill was pulled over, he received his citations and was released.
What has the Miami-Dade Police Department and the officers’ union said?
WHAT WE KNOW: Police Director Daniels put Torres on administrative duty and ordered the internal affairs investigation after reviewing the videos.
Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, defended the officers’ actions, saying that Hill “was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger.”
“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground.”
Ignacio Alvarez, Torres’ attorney, issued a statement Tuesday calling for his client’s immediate reinstatement while respecting Daniels’ call for an investigation.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: It is unknown how long the internal affairs investigation will take.
What did the Dolphins say?
WHAT WE KNOW: The team said it has a strong relationship with the police department but was “saddened” by the altercation and called for “swift and strong action against the officers.”
“There are some officers who mistake their responsibility and commitment to serve with misguided power,” the team said.
What happens next?
WHAT WE KNOW: Hill’s attorneys have threatened to sue the department and officers.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: Whether Hill’s attorneys will follow through. In the end, they might not think it’s worth it or want to put their client through a deposition and the discovery process, where the defendants could demand access to personal records and information.
A previous version incorrectly identified the police director as Stephanie Davis, not Daniels.
Spencer reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.