Tyreek Hill situation: What we know about Dolphins WR’s traffic stop

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill will suit up for his second game since he was detained following a traffic stop a block from his team’s stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, hours before the Dolphins kicked off their season opener.

Miami will host the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night in a Week 2 contest between the AFC East rivals, but a lot has happened in Hill’s case over the past week.

Hill, 30, was detained for about 15 minutes after a Miami-Dade Police Department officer pulled him over for careless driving and driving without a seat belt.

Here’s everything you need to know about matter:

What happened during Tyreek Hill’s traffic stop Sunday in Miami Gardens?

Hill was pulled over Sunday, a block away from Hard Rock Stadium, hours before the Dolphins were set to host the Jacksonville Jaguars in their Week 1 game.

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According to body-cam footage released Monday by the Miami-Dade Police Department, the encounter between Hill and the primary responding officer started as a routine traffic stop. The officer, who was on a motorcycle, pulled Hill over, knocked on the window of his McLaren 720S coupe and informed him that he was speeding.

‘Don’t knock on my window like that,’ Hill told the officer, repeating it at least seven times. ‘Give me my ticket, bro, so I can go. Do what you have to do.’

After Hill turned over his license, he rolled his window up again. The officer knocked on the window twice more.

‘Keep your window down or I’m going to get you out of the car,’ the officer said. ‘As a matter of fact, get out of the car. … Get out of the car right now. We’re not playing this game. Get out. Get out!’

At least three officers are seen pulling Hill, who was on the phone, out of the car and onto the ground.

‘Hey Drew, hey Drew, I’m getting arrested dude. I’m getting arrested,’ Hill said as he’s brought to the ground. Hill was speaking to Dolphins head of team security Drew Brooks, who later arrived at the scene.

Hill was placed in handcuffs, standing on the curb while another officer attempted to bring him down to the ground in a seated position.

‘I just had surgery on my knee! I just had surgery on my knee!’ Hill said. ‘Chill bro, chill bro.’

After forcing him to the ground, an officer said to Hill: ‘Did you just have surgery on your ears when we told you to put your window down?’

Hill complained about knee pain several times and repeatedly asked if he could stand, citing tendonitis. 

‘I’m not playing today, bruh, because that dude (expletive) my knee up. Like he really tackled me on my knee on this damn cement, bruh,’ Hill said. 

Teammates Jonnu Smith and Calais Campbell are also shown on the body-camera footage, interacting with officers while attempting to assist Hill. Smith appeared to receive a traffic ticket for failing to move his car. Campbell was briefly placed in handcuffs after also declining to leave the scene.

As the initial officer explained to another officer what led to the stop, Hill can be heard in the background saying: “I’m just being a Black man, that’s it. I’m just being Black in America, bruh. … I’m just being a Black man in America, bruh, with a nice car.” 

An officer informed Hill he was being cited for careless driving and driving without a seatbelt.

After being joined at the scene by Brooks and Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, Hill left the scene by shaking hands with the responding officers, including the one who initially pulled him over. He told the officers: ‘Respect, for real. It’s nothing personal. Appreciate it. Appreciate it.’

‘I still got love for y’all,’ Hill added as he walked away. ‘I still want to be an officer one day. I’ve got respect for all of y’all.’

The Dolphins would go on to defeat the Jaguars, 20-17. Hill caught seven passes for 130 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown.

What has Tyreek Hill said about the incident?

Hill said Wednesday that he wishes he ‘could go back and do things a bit differently’ during his encounter with police.

‘Yes, I will say, I could’ve been better. I could’ve let down my window in that instance,’ Hill said in a news conference. ‘… 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’ve got to follow rules. I’ve got to 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.’

This came one day after Hill and his legal team called for one of the officers involved in the matter, Danny Torres, to be fired.

‘We are of the opinion that the officer’s use of force was excessive, escalating, and reckless,’ Hill and his lawyers said Tuesday night in a statement. ‘We are demanding that the officer be terminated effective immediately.

Hill reiterated later Wednesday that he believes Torres should be ‘gone.’

What were the citations in the Tyreek Hill traffic stop?

According to the citations, which were released by Miami-Dade police on Tuesday, police estimated that Hill’s McLaren 720S coupe was traveling about 60 mph before the stop. The speed limit in that stretch of road near Hard Rock Stadium is 40 mph.

The officer who pulled Hill over wrote in short-hand on the citations that he was speeding in an area that was heavy with both car and foot traffic — the combination of factors that likely resulted in the careless driving citation.

Hill will owe about $300 in fines for the two tickets.

Who is officer put on administrative duties by MDPD?

The Miami-Dade Police Department launched an internal affairs investigation into the Hill incident, and announced an officer was placed on administrative duties.

‘The department is committed to conducting a thorough, objective investigation into this matter, and we will continue to update the public on the outcome of that process,’ she said in a statement.

On Tuesday, in a release emailed to USA TODAY Sports, MDPD identified Danny Torres, who has 27 years of tenure with the department, as the officer who was placed on administrative duties.

An attorney for Torres issued a statement earlier Tuesday requesting that he be reinstated immediately. Meanwhile, a number of critics — including Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus — have said they believe the officers involved in the traffic stop should be fired.

Has the officer involved said anything?

No, Danny Torres has not publicly commented on the matter, though he has retained lawyers to handle the case. His attorneys are arguing that placing him on administrative duties was ‘premature’ and are requesting that their client be returned to his usual role.

‘We call for our client’s immediate reinstatement, and a complete, thorough, and objective investigation, as Director Daniels has also advocated,’ attorneys Ignacio Alvarez and Israel Reyes said Tuesday in a news release. ‘Our client will not comment until this investigation is concluded and the facts are fully revealed.’

How fast was Tyreek Hill going when he was pulled over?

Hill was pulled over by a police officer on a motorcycle just outside Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 8 and informed that he was speeding. Officers later said they clocked Hill going 60 miles per hour. Hill’s official citation, released Tuesday, detailed ‘high rate of speed visual estimation 60 mph.’ The speed limit on the road where Hill was pulled over is 40 mph.

Have the Miami Dolphins said anything about the matter?

The team released a statement Monday that said it was ‘saddened by the overly aggressive and violent conduct’ exhibited by the officers and added that it would ‘stand by Tyreek and our players as they work to use their platform and this situation to make a positive impact’ in Miami-Dade.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said his initial response to the body-cam footage ‘wasn’t shock, it was sadness.’

Hill’s teammate, Calais Campbell, said he felt like “excessive force” was used by police, which led to him joining the scene to defuse the situation.

“They were trying to yank him down to the ground. I saw them kick him, pull him down, put on the cuffs. The shoulders look like they were messed up. They got him down. One officer pushed on his head. It was completely unnecessary,” Campbell said during an interview on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday. 

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said it was ‘a little emotional’ to watch the body-cam footage of the incident, but added that Hill has approached some members of the team

‘I would say just watching the film, in my opinion, I think it could have been deescalated another way,’ Tagovailoa said Tuesday. ‘I don’t think it was done the right way. There’s a lot of things that I think could have been done different, but I know Tyreek has gathered a group of us together to do something, to help change some things. He’s come up with a couple ideas and we’ve gathered to talk about what we wanted to do.’

In a social media message posted Monday, Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey responded to the body-cam footage and said: ‘FIRE EM IMMEDIATELY!’

Who is Tyreek Hill?

Hill, 30, is a nine-year NFL veteran receiver and a five-time first-team All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl player. Known for his speed and elusiveness, Hill has been one of the most productive receivers in the last half decade. He led the NFL last year in receiving yards (1,799) and tied Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans for most receiving touchdowns (13).

Hill previously played for the Kansas City Chiefs (2016-21), before the Dolphins traded for him ahead of the 2022 season.