Body cam footage is shedding new light on Sunday’s incident outside of Hard Rock Stadium when Dolphins star Tyreek Hill was detained by police.
The newly released footage shows a chaotic scene unfolding after Miami-Dade Police stopped Hill for speeding as the situation quickly escalated.
He was cited for careless driving and a seat belt violation, according to ESPN, before being released at the scene.
Teammate Calais Campbell was also detained after he pulled over and attempted to de-escalate the situation.
Video footage from officer body cams shows the moment that police approached Hill’s car and knocked on his window, drawing objections from the eight-time Pro Bowler.
“Hey don’t knock on my window like that,” Hill can be heard saying to the officer, who in turn asked Hill why he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
The first officer attempted to explain why he was trying to get Hill’s attention with the knock and Hill, who had appeared to already give the cop his license, responded by asking the officer to give him a ticket so he could leave and then rolled the window back up.
The officer objected to the window and when Hill brought the window down slightly, the cops ordered Hill out of the car.
Hill could be heard saying that he was going to get out of the vehicle when a second officer pulled open the car door and yanked the Dolphins receiver out of the car and brought him to the ground with the assistance of a third officer.
“Hey Drew I’m getting arrested,” said Hill, who was holding his phone and appeared to have his agent Drew Rosenhaus on the phone at the time.
Hill could then be seen being placed in cuffs as multiple officers surrounded him.
“When we tell you to do something you do it, you understand?” an officer said. “Not when you want, but when we tell you. You’re a little f–king confused.”
Hill was eventually brought to his feet and moments later when he wasn’t quick enough to sit on the curb after being asked to by an officer, another cop came in and aggressively pushed him down.
“I just had surgery on my knee,” Hill tried to inform the cop.
“Did you have surgery on your ears when we told you to put your window down,” the officer screamed back.
In an interview with NBC News, Hill professed some concern over what would have happened if he wasn’t a star on the Dolphins when the incident occurred.
“If I wasn’t Tyreek Hill, Lord knows, I probably would have been, like, worst-case scenario, I would have been shot or would have been locked up” and “put behind bars, you know, for a simple speeding ticket,” He said. “And that’s crazy that officers would take it, you know, to that level.”
The Dolphins released a lengthy statement following the release of the body camera footage.
While the team commended the police department’s decision to release the footage, they condemned the officers’ actions and defended Hill.
“We are saddened by the overly aggressive and violent conduct directed towards Tyreek Hill, Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith by police officers before yesterday’s game,” part of the statement read. “It is both maddening and heartbreaking to watch the very people we trust to protect our community use such unnecessary force and hostility towards these players, yet it is also a reminder that not every situation like this ends in peace, as we are grateful this one did. ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ is a question that will carry with resounding impact.”
Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement that the department was releasing a combined 105 minutes and 33 seconds of body camera footage to the public in an attempt to show transparency.
“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,” the statement read.
