Tyreek Hill calls for officer placed on leave to be fired - ESPN
MIAMI — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is calling for a Miami-Dade police officer to be fired following a now-viral incident Sunday in which Hill was pulled from his vehicle during a traffic stop.
Hill's attorney, Julius Collins, released a statement on Hill's behalf Tuesday night demanding the «immediate termination» of the «escalating officer» who was placed on administrative leave as a result of Sunday's incident.
«Each action that a law enforcement official take is governed by standard operating procedures,» the statement read. «We are of the opinion that the officer's use of force was excessive, escalating, and reckless. We are demanding that the officer be terminated effective immediately.»
The officer, who has since been identified as 27-year veteran Danny Torres, was one of several officers present when Hill was pulled over for speeding roughly three hours before the Dolphins' season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The police union that works with the Miami-Dade PD released a statement Monday afternoon saying Hill was «uncooperative» with the responding officers, leading to an escalation of the situation.
Body camera footage released Monday evening showed that after a brief verbal altercation with the officer who pulled him over, Hill was instructed to exit his vehicle but ultimately was forcibly removed from his car by Torres and «redirected» to the ground.
Torres then handcuffed Hill while kneeling on his back and forced him to the ground again after Hill was instructed to sit down on the sidewalk roughly one minute later. In their statement, Hill and Collins say Hill advised officers that he had recently undergone knee surgery, but Torres «ignored his statement and continued his escalation