Hill admits traffic stop errors but says police ‘beat the dog out of me’

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill acknowledged on Wednesday that he could have handled a weekend traffic stop differently, but remained critical of how police officers treated him.
Hill said he that he should left the window of his car down when officers instructed him to do so during the stop on Sunday. He rolled up the window instead. The incident escalated quickly from there.
“I will say I could have been better,” Hill said. “I could have let down my window in that instant. But the thing about me is, 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.”
Body camera video from the incident shows an officer pull Hill out of his car by his arm and head and then force him face-first on to the ground. Officers handcuffed Hill and one put a knee in the middle of his back. Teammate Calais Campbell – who drove by the scene and stopped in an effort to play peacemaker – was also handcuffed by police during the incident.
Hill said earlier this week that one of the officers, who has been placed on administrative duties since the incident, should be fired. On Wednesday, Hill said that the actions of the officers were disproportionate.
“Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not,” Hill said. “But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently.”
He also repeated his call for the officer in question, Danny Torres, to be fired. Torres’s attorney says his client wishes to be reinstated to his former duties.
“Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. He’s gotta go, man,” Hill said of Torres. “In that instant right there, not only did he treat me bad, but he also treated my teammates with disrespect. He had some crazy words towards them and they didn’t even do nothing. Like, what did they do to you? They’re just walking on the sidewalk. He’s got to go, man.”
Hill received citations for reckless driving and failing to wear a seatbelt after being pulled over. The incident happened close to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium hours before Sunday’s game, in which Hill scored a touchdown to help seal a 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Other members of the Dolphins said they had been affected by the incident.
The team’s defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, who is Black, said the video made him reflect on his own life. “It’s unfortunate in this day and time,” Weaver said, “when I have two boys – my wife is Mexican American – and both the times that they were born and they were light-skinned, there was almost a sense of relief in that they were going to avoid some of the same issues that I’ve had to deal with throughout my life.”
The Dolphins play the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, and Hill said he would use the game as therapy. He said he would not take a knee – a move many players have used in recent years to protest police brutality – or call for the defunding of police. Hill has said several times in recent days that he has respect for police officers, and he intends to pursue work in law enforcement when his playing days end.
“Right now, what I’m focused on is my job and that’s to play football,” Hill said. “That’s all I can be, the best football player I can be.”
Hill is one of the best receivers in the NFL, and has been named to the Pro Bowl in every season since he entered the league in 2016. He led the league in receiving last season with a career high 1,799 yards. He won the Super Bowl with his previous team, the Kansas City Chiefs, in February 2020. He was traded to the Dolphins in March 2022 and signed a four-year, $120m contract extension that makes him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.
Sunday’s incident wasn’t the first time Hill has come into contact with Miami-Dade police. Last offseason, Hill was under investigation by the department for assault and battery after it was reported that he got into an argument with a marina worker, which apparently ended with Hill hitting the worker. Hill and the man later resolved their dispute.
Hill’s teammates spoke out this week to condemn those who used past allegations of violence against the receiver to justify any excessive use of force by police. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said on Wednesday that Hill continues to grow as a person, and that he has spoken to him on multiple occasions about why that matters. He also acknowledged that Hill could have handled the incident differently, without revealing specifics.
“A conversation about what provoked unnecessary,” McDaniel said, “is trivial to the unnecessary.”