I have to admit that I do n’t watch much professional sports, and I have n’t heard much about the Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill until yesterday. On social media, bystanders ‘ videos of his Sunday night encounter with police officers were everywhere to find them. If there was body camera footage that could reveal the circumstances surrounding the encounter and what caused Hill to be handcuffed, I would make my designated judgment.
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And now that I’ve seen that brain camera film, I think it’s fair to say the affair was not the Miami-Dade Police Department’s finest hour. Nor was it Tyreek Hill’s, who, in speeding in his$ 300, 000 sports car, brought himself to the attention of the police and was something of a jerk after being stopped.
The most comprehensive body camera video I’ve seen is this one, posted by Dallas ABC advertising WFAA, out of the many others I’ve seen online. It has what appears to be unfiltered images from all the concerned soldiers, though for some reason it was pieced up non-chronologically. One must begin at 1:15 :06 when two Miami-Dade motorcycle soldiers are stopped facing east in the center of NW 199th Street, close to Hard Rock Stadium, to understand how the tragedy developed. The lens is being worn by the man I’ll call Officer 1, who is parked alongside Officer 2 in a commuter overpass.
The video does n’t make any noise at this point, but these officers appear to be having a casual conversation when something to the east grabs their attention, which we can safely assume is the sound of a speeding car approaching. Officer 1 puts on his hat as Officer 2 looks southeast. Hill’s dark McLaren is visible heading west at the 1:15:38 mark, which seems to be faster than the other cars that are moving in the picture. Officer 1 makes a U-Turn and begins to pursue.
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At the 1: 16: 07 level on the picture, Officer 1 pulls alongside the McLaren and activates his body-worn lens, which now captures sound. A cushion is present on body-worn cams like those used by the Miami-Dade officers, which allows for one minute of video without sound to be triggered. The McLaren’s vehicle’s side screen is over as the agent is heard saying, apparently in response to a problem from Hill,” Because you were speeding”.
Hill is instructed to advance, followed for a short while, and then chirped his horn. Hill stops, and we can see his windows is also lower. As Officer 1 approaches the car, Hill rolls up his glass, which is strongly tinted. A traffic offender whose actions are then unobservable in the car is now shown as Officer 1’s red flag. Consider this from the perspective of the officer: In recent years, police officer attacks have increased dangerously in a way that is not widely known to the general public but is widely known to those in law enforcement. The most officials shot since the data began being collected, according to the Federal Fraternal Order of Police, in 2023. More than 39 million results were found in a Facebook search using the word “officer killed during traffic quit.”
Officer 1 strategies and knocks double on Hill’s windows. Hill lowers the window and says,” Hey, do n’t knock on my window like that”. But, yes, it was Hill who initially steered the experience in the wrong way. The agent had every right to blow on the screen, and Hill had soon say that the picture clearly shows that he did not “beat on it like he mad.” Officer 1 asks Hill why he is n’t wearing his seatbelt, to which Hill repeats,” Do n’t knock on my window like that”.
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After handing over his pilot’s license, Hill when once raises the windows, to which the Officer 1 fairly items. Officer 1 knocks on the screen once more and says,” Keep your windows down.” Hill lowers the window a few inches and says,” Do n’t tell me what to do”.
Officer 1 was legally permitted to direct Hill to keep his windows shut. In 1977, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled, in Pennsylvania v. Mimms, that police officers had, to protect their health, get occupants of a stopped vehicle to return. Officer 1 instructed Hill to leave the car because he could n’t see him through the tinted window. Things started to go very badly wrong around.
We can see that Soldiers 3 and 4 have presently arrived, and when Hill delays his return from the vehicle, Officer 3 says he does “break that f***ing glass”. The same agent then opens Hill’s doorway and, even as it appears Hill did return on his own, he grabs Hill, pulls him from the vehicle, forces him to the ground, and then violently lectures him. ” When we tell you to do anything, you do it”, he says. ” No when you want, but when we tell you. You’re a small f***ing confused”.
Hill is handcuffed and helped to his foot by Officer 2. Hill claims to a partner in a passing vehicle that the officers were “beating on my windows like they crazy” while being led to the pavement. Officer 2 tells Hill to sit down on the curb, and when Hill objects that he” just had surgery on ]his ] knee”, Officer 3 comes behind Hill, grabs him around the chest, and forces him to sit.
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One of Hill’s friends pulls out of his Rolls Royce SUV in front of Hill’s vehicles. Officer 3 immediately criticizes and berates him. Officer 3 leaves, and Officer 4 quite subduedly tells the colleague he needs to move his vehicle. Officer 1, who should have been issuing a speeding ticket to Hill, inserts himself into this extra crisis when Officer 4 appeared to have it under control for reasons I cannot describe. Officer 1 tells the man to leave, which he agreed to perform, only to have Officer 1 change his mind. ” Give me your license”, says Officer 1. ” You’re getting a ticket to”.
A second partner, this one driving a Tesla, stops behind the assembled police riders, and despite acting gently and graciously with the officers, he also ends up in handcuffs. A police sergeant and captain, both of whom appear to be aware of what a controversy the incident will soon turn into, will soon be present at the scene within minutes. A number of Dolphins honchos, including Drew Brooks, the team’s head of security, and a retired police officer from Pembroke Pines, Florida, were also present, and the team gave them the task of trying to resolve the situation.
Hill was eventually given his speeding ticket and let go. His two teammates were also cited, unwisely, in my opinion, as both of them behaved like gentlemen throughout the incident. Hill cannot be compared, as can three police officers, one of whom has been given administrative leave, cannot be.
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It was simply a pathetic, embarrassing spectacle for all concerned. They should all feel ashamed, but probably do n’t.  ,
