Video of receiver Tyreek Hill’s capture revealed

A police officer dragged Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill out of his sports car by the arm and head and then forced him to the ground with his face in the dirt after Hill rolled up the window of his vehicle during a traffic stop before Sunday’s game, according to body camera footage released today from six police officers.

The video shows that the altercation between Miami-Dade County officers and Hill quickly escalated and that they hurled insults at him, but he did not resist using physical force or attempt to attack them, although he did say, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Police Chief Stephanie Davis said they would not normally release the footage while an investigation is ongoing, but she wanted to show the department is “committed to transparency and maintaining the public’s trust.”

The video shows Hill passing the two motorcycle officers in his McLaren sports car on the highway leading to Hard Rock Stadium. They then turn on their lights and ask Hill to stop.

One of the officers knocks on the driver’s side window and asks him to roll it down. Hill does so and hands over his driver’s license. “Don’t knock on my window like that,” Hill tells the officer several times.

“I have to knock to let you know I’m here,” he replies, asking the player why he isn’t wearing a seatbelt.

“Just give me my ticket bro, so I can go. I’m late. Do what you have to do,” Hill tells the cop as he rolls up his tinted window.

“Keep the window down,” the officer repeats, knocking on the window again. Hill is still visible inside. Hill lowers the window slightly and says, “Don’t tell me what to do,” before rolling it back up.

The officer pauses for about five seconds to look around before telling Hill to put the window down or “I’m going to get you out of your car.” In fact, get out of the car.

The officer demands that Hill open the door, at which point other officers approach, as he says, “Get out of the car or I will break the window.”

Hill opened the door and the second officer grabbed him by the arm and the back of the head as the player said, “I’m leaving.”

The second officer forces Hill to put his face on the ground before putting his arms behind his back while the receiver yells into his cell phone: “I’m being arrested, Drew.”

It’s unclear whether he was referring to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, or the team’s director of security, Drew Brooks. Both quickly arrived at the scene.

The officers handcuff Hill and one of them places his knee on his back. “If we tell you to do something, you do it.”

“Take me to jail, bro, or whatever you gotta do,” Hill replies. “We’ll do it,” says the officer who pulled him out of the car.

The officers then forced him to his feet and Hill asked them, “Why are you banging on my window like crazy?”

The officers take Hill to the sidewalk and one of the officers asks him to sit on the ground, but the player tells him that he just had knee surgery.

The officer who pulled him out of the car jumped from behind, grabbed him by the chest or neck to make him sit up.

“Calm down, bro,” Hill is heard telling the officers.

At that point, his partner Calais Campbell parked his truck in front and got out to ask what was going on. The officer ordered Campbell to get back in his car before telling him that he was going to be ticketed for blocking the road. He was also soon handcuffed.

Hill and Campbell were eventually released and allowed to proceed to the stadium. Hill was issued two citations but was not arrested. One of the officers was placed on administrative leave.

South Florida Police Officers Union President Steadman Stahl defended the officers’ actions, saying Hill “was briefly detained for officer safety after driving in a manner that put himself and others at great risk.”

“Upon being detained, Mr. Hill did not immediately cooperate with officers on scene who, in compliance with directives and for his safety at the time, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected. Once the situation was cleared up within a few minutes, Mr. Hill was issued two traffic citations and was allowed to leave.”

Hill later said he did not understand why the officers handcuffed him.

“I have no idea, really,” Hill said after the game. “I wasn’t disrespectful, because my mother didn’t raise me that way. I didn’t swear. Nothing like that.”

Hill’s attorney, Julius B. Collins, said the receiver’s legal team is exploring all legal options and called the officers’ actions “excessive.”

“Mr. Hill understands the dangerous nature of the job of security officers and understands that officer safety is important,” Collins said in a statement, “but at no time did Mr. Hill pose a danger.”

Campbell said Monday that tight end Jonnu Smith and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. were also on hand to help Hill, who repeatedly told them, “Don’t leave me.”

The 30-year-old black receiver wondered what would have happened to him if he weren’t an NFL star. Some of his fellow African-American teammates acknowledged they are used to these interactions.

“Excessive use of force on a black man is not uncommon,” safety Jevon Holland said. “It’s common in the United States.”

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said he was upset by the situation and appeared to hold back tears as he recalled the incident.

“It’s probably more annoying because, yes, I spend a lot of time prioritizing empathy and when you know you can’t truly understand uncertainty, it hits me,” he said.