MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins was handcuffed and positioned face down on a road outdoors the crew’s stadium after he was stopped for dashing and reckless driving Sunday morning earlier than the Dolphins’ first sport of the season, an incident that left the star vast receiver baffled and resulted in a police officer being positioned on administrative go away.
The officer, who was not recognized, was one in every of not less than three concerned in detaining Hill. Some followers noticed Hill being handcuffed and captured video on their technique to the sport, and it shortly went viral on social media.
Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie V. Daniels mentioned she had launched an inside affairs investigation.
Instructed after the sport that the officer was positioned on go away pending the result of the investigation, Hill mentioned: “That ought to let you know every thing it’s essential know.”
Added defensive sort out Calais Campbell, who was additionally briefly handcuffed after coming to his teammate’s support: “That is sensible based mostly on the scenario.”
Hill, who mentioned he respects law enforcement officials and desires to be one when he retires from soccer, mentioned he “had no thought” why police positioned him in handcuffs.
“I wasn’t disrespectful as a result of my mother didn’t elevate me that means,” Hill mentioned. “Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. Like I mentioned, I’m nonetheless attempting to determine it out, man.”
Hill starred on the sphere for the Dolphins, catching seven passes for 130 yards — together with an 80-yard touchdown that helped Miami rally for a 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill celebrated the rating by mimicking being handcuffed.
Hill, who’s Black, mentioned he did not need to use his celeb to get out of the scenario however puzzled what would’ve occurred if he weren’t an NFL star.
“I don’t need to convey race into it, however generally it will get type of iffy once you do,” he mentioned. “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord is aware of what that man or guys would have completed. I used to be simply ensuring that I used to be doing what my uncle all the time instructed me to do everytime you’re in a scenario like that: ‘Simply pay attention, put your palms on the steering wheel and simply pay attention.’”
Daniels mentioned in a press release earlier Sunday that she requested an “quick evaluate” of the small print surrounding the incident, including that the division would evaluate accessible physique digicam footage.
In a later assertion, Daniels mentioned: “I am dedicated to transparency and accountability to the neighborhood with any scenario involving my officers.”
Hill mentioned every thing occurred so quick it caught him off guard.
“I’m simply glad that my teammates had been there to help me in that scenario as a result of I felt alone,” Hill added.
Campbell mentioned he was driving into Exhausting Rock Stadium when he noticed Hill handcuffed, and he stopped to assist. The 17-year NFL veteran ended up in handcuffs as effectively, saying officers instructed him it was as a result of he disobeyed their direct orders.
“I’d seen, I really feel like extreme drive, so I get out of the automobile to type of simply attempt to de-escalate the scenario,” Campbell mentioned, additionally calling the incident “a bit excessive.”
Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023, mentioned he spoke to his spouse and household after he was detained and earlier than the sport kicked off.
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, known as it a “heartbreaking scenario” on ESPN.
“How issues escalated into the scenario that they had been in, in handcuffs and being held on the bottom with police, is mindboggling to me,” Rosenhaus mentioned. “I am deeply involved by that. Very troubled. We can be wanting into it. We can be investigating this. We’ll look out for Tyreek, however I am not going to make any allegations presently. A very powerful factor is Tyreek is OK bodily, mentally he was very distraught about what occurred.”
It is not the primary off-field incident involving Hill.
He was accused of punching his girlfriend in school and bought kicked off the crew at Oklahoma State. In 2019, prosecutors in suburban Kansas Metropolis declined to cost Hill after an alleged home violence incident involving his fiancee and their 3-year-old baby.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy mentioned the league has been in touch with the Dolphins about Sunday’s incident, however declined to remark additional.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Alanis Thames, The Related Press