Officer involved in Tyreek Hill stop had prior use of force complaints

The police officer who has been placed on administrative duties for his role in Tyreek Hill’s traffic stop has previously been the subject of multiple complaints for use of force and conduct unbecoming of an officer, according to personnel records obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Friday.

Danny Torres, one of the officers who forcefully pulled Hill from his car Sunday morning, has been suspended six times in his nearly 28 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department and has received written reprimands on four other occasions, though one of those reprimands was later rescinded.

Details of the specific incidents and conduct that prompted the sanctions are not included in his seven-page employee profile, which was released Friday in response to a public-records request.

Torres has also been formally commended at least 32 times, including as recently as 2023, when he received commendations for professionalism and dedication to duty.

Torres is under scrutiny for his role in Hill’s detainment Sunday morning, when the Miami Dolphins wide receiver was forcibly removed from his car, taken to the ground and handcuffed for about 15 minutes. Hill, 30, was later given traffic tickets for careless driving and driving without a seatbelt. He is fighting the violations.

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Miami-Dade police director Stephanie Daniels said in a statement earlier this week that Torres had been placed on administrative duties pending an internal investigation into his conduct during the stop. While Torres’ attorney has publicly requested that the veteran officer be reinstated, Hill and members of his camp have called for Torres to be fired.

‘He’s got to go, man,’ Hill reiterated in a news conference Wednesday.

Torres, who was hired in October 1996, has an annual salary just shy of $123,000, according to online county records. In the past 27-plus years, he has faced six complaints alleging discourtesy, force violations, improper procedure and conduct unbecoming of an officer. In three of the cases, which took place between 2014 and 2018, some or all of the allegations were sustained; he was cleared in the other three complaints.

Torres’ most recent suspension came in June 2019, when he was sidelined for 10 days. He also received a 20-day suspension in 2018, according to the personnel records. It is immediately unclear what prompted the discipline.

The Miami New Times reported earlier this week that, outside of work, Torres is an avid motorcyclist and DJ. He is also listed as being on the board of directors of the local police union, the South Florida Police Benevolent Association. According to a Facebook post by the organization, Torres spent a month in a coma in late 2020; a GoFundMe page created on his behalf stated that he had been involved in an on-duty traffic collision.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.