MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins tight end Tyreek Hill was handcuffed and laid facedown on a street outside the team’s stadium after being stopped for speeding and reckless driving Sunday morning. the Dolphins’ first game of the seasonan incident that left the star wide receiver baffled and led to a police officer being placed on leave.
The police officer, whose identity is unknown, was one of at least three officers involved in Hill’s arrest. Some fans saw Hill being handcuffed on the way to the game and took video, and it quickly became clear went viral on social media.
Miami-Dade Police Director Stephanie V. Daniels said she has launched an internal investigation.
When Hill was told after the game that the officer was on leave pending the investigation, he said, “That should tell you all you need to know.”
Defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who was also briefly handcuffed after coming to his teammate’s aid, added: “It makes sense given the situation.”
Hill said he respects police officers and wants to be one when he finishes his football career, and said he had “no idea” why police handcuffed him.
“I wasn’t being disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way,” Hill said. “I didn’t curse. I didn’t do any of that. Like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.”
Hill was the star on the field for the Dolphins, catching seven passes for 130 yards – including an 80-yard touchdown This gave Miami a 20-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill celebrated the goal by pretending to be handcuffed.
Hill, who is black, said he didn’t want to use his celebrity to get out of the situation, but wondered what would have happened if he wasn’t an NFL star.
“I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets a little tricky when you do that,” he said. “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? God knows what that guy or those guys would have done. I just made sure I did what my uncle always told me when I’m in that situation: ‘Just listen, put your hands on the wheel and just listen.'”
Daniels said in a statement Sunday morning that she had requested an “immediate review” of the details of the incident, adding that the department would review available body camera footage.
In a later statement, Daniels said, “I am committed to transparency and accountability to the community in all situations involving my officers.”
Hill said everything happened so quickly that he was completely unprepared.
“I’m just glad my teammates were there to support me in that situation because I felt alone,” Hill added.
Campbell said he was driving into Hard Rock Stadium when he saw Hill in handcuffs, and he stopped to help. The 17-year NFL veteran also ended up in handcuffs and said officers told him he disobeyed their direct orders.
“I felt like excessive force was used, so I got out of the car to try to de-escalate the situation,” Campbell said, calling the incident “a bit extreme.”
Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023, said he spoke with his wife and family after his arrest and before the game began.
His agent Drew Rosenhaus called it a “heartbreaking situation” on ESPN.
“How things escalated and they ended up in the situation where they were handcuffed and held on the ground by police is beyond me,” Rosenhaus said. “That worries me greatly. Very disturbing. We will look into it. We will investigate. We will look for Tyreek, but I will not make any accusations at this point. The most important thing is that Tyreek is physically fine. Mentally he was very disturbed by what happened.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league was in contact with the Dolphins but declined to comment further.
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