Tyreek Hill explains what he would do differently in the incident with Miami police
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill reiterated that he wants the police officer who arrested him to be fired, but also explained how he would have reacted differently.
Sportpuls
Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill talks about the “traumatic” police stop that ended with him landing on the sidewalk in handcuffs.
Before the Dolphins’ Thursday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills, Amazon Prime aired an interview between reporter Taylor Rooks and Hill, four days after he was forcibly dragged from his vehicle and detained during a routine traffic stop in Miami.
Hill said he had not yet fully processed what happened Sunday before the Dolphins’ first home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“It’s tough. It’s difficult. Going through something like this is traumatic,” Hill told Rooks. “It’s embarrassing for my family and my kids. My wife (Keeta) has been worried and she’s pregnant. I’m still trying to put it all together. I’m still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”
Although Hill never wanted to become a poster child for police brutality, the eight-time Pro Bowler said he would use this situation to draw attention to excessive use of force by police.
“I have a chance to at least try to raise awareness about what this whole country has been trying to fix for decades,” Hill said. “Every situation has pros and cons. It’s what you make of it that matters.”
Hill, 30, added: “You learn from the situation, you take responsibility.”
Police body camera footage released Monday showed the confrontation between Hill and Miami-Dade police officers after he was stopped on his way to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. He was cited for reckless driving at about 60 miles per hour and for not wearing a seatbelt. The traffic stop became controversial after Hill partially rolled up his window when asked for his identification.
“In the heat of the moment, the officer is thinking about his safety and I’m like, I don’t want my pictures taken … before a game is stopped. I tried to meet in the middle of it. Here’s my ID and I’m hardly going to leave my window tilted,” Hill said, noting that there is “no law” prohibiting rolling up the window. “But does that give them the right to pull me out of my car? No, there isn’t. That doesn’t give them the right to lay a hand on me.”
Hill added that one of the officers tried to “provoke” him while he was in custody.
“While I was handcuffed, the cop was pinching my neck and trying to get me to hurt him. It was absolutely insane,” Hill said.
Hill said he only viewed the body camera footage once.
“I can’t watch it more than once. My mom and my wife have probably seen it 100 times,” Hill said.
Hill said he wanted to use the whole situation to “make a difference.”
“It’s about accountability on both sides. I’m going to take accountability for my mistakes … and I want this side to take accountability,” Hill said. “I don’t want to hear from those police officers. We need to talk to the top. We’re going to work it out and have some conversations. We’re going to have some very uncomfortable conversations and hopefully we can make a difference. I think we will.”
Hill said he had received calls to boycott the national anthem because of the confrontation with police, but he would not do so because he wanted to keep football separate. “Football is my sanctuary,” he said.
