Dolphins star Tyreek Hill said he “could have been better” during his encounter with police, but still wants the officer to be fired and held accountable. NBC6’s Laura Rodriguez reports
Dolphins star Tyreek Hill said he "could have been better" during Sunday's encounter with Miami-Dade Police that saw him pulled out of his car and handcuffed outside Hard Rock Stadium but said he wants the officer who was placed on administrative duties fired.
Hill spoke with reporters Wednesday, saying said he accepts some responsibility in the incident.
"I have family members who are cops, we've had conversations yes, I will say, I could have been better, I could have let down my window in that instant," Hill said. "I don't want attention, I don't want to be cameras out, phones on you in that moment but at the end of the day I'm human, I gotta follow rules, I gotta do what everyone else would do. Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not, but at the end of the day I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently."
Police bodycamera footage released Monday showed an officer pulled Hill out of his sports car by his arm and forced him face-first to the ground after Hill put up the window of his car during a traffic stop before Sunday's game.
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Hill was handcuffed and detained but released after he received citations for careless driving and failing to wear a seatbelt.
Hill said Wednesday he was watching "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" when the bodycamera footage was released on Monday, and he stepped outside the theater to watch it.
One of the cops involved in the incident, Officer Danny Torres, a 27-year veteran of the department, remains on administrative duties while an internal affairs investigation is completed, Miami-Dade Police said Tuesday.
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Hill said Wednesday that he should be fired, particularly for the way teammate Calais Campbell was treated. Campbell, who stopped at the scene to offer support, was also placed in handcuffs.
"He gotta go man because in that instance right there, not only did he treat me bad, he also treated my teammates with disrespect, he had some crazy words toward them and they didn't even do nothing, what did they do to you? They were just walking on the sidewalk," Hill said. "He gotta go. It's not too many times that Cheetah say people gotta go but."
Hill also said things might have gone differently for someone who isn't in the NFL.
"I feel like I handled myself well in that situation but obviously like I said I could do better but it's shellshocking man, it's really crazy to know that you have officers in this world who would literally do that with bodycams on, it's sad, it's really sad," he said. "What would they do if they didn't have bodycams, which is even crazier. It's a lot to unpack, there's a lot we can learn."
Hill said he had to quickly get over the incident as the Dolphins took on the Jacksonville Jaguars and he did, catching seven passes for 130 yards including an 80-yard touchdown as the Dolphins won 20-17.
"I'm unfazed man, I'm one of those guys, I'm unfazed by it cause I'm not the only one who goes through that. Where I'm from you typically see that a lot and you don't hear about it because not everybody has the same resources as Tyreek Hill," he said. "That's why I was able to go out and play the way I did cause I'm numb to it, it's kind of expected."
Hill said he's have to remain unfazed as the Dolphins play the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.
"I'm not gonna take a knee, I'm not gonna ask to defund the police, I'm not gonna protest, I'm not gonna do any of that when it comes to being inside of this football because this is my therapy, football is my therapy, this is how I get away from a lot of stuff, this is how I separate myself from past traumas in my life," he said. "I don't think we should use this as a moment to separate people, or divide people, or you know make it a battle or anything like that. I still love cops, I want to be a cop, I've been standing on the table for the cops but at the end of the day right now what I'm focused on is my job, to play football."
