Police release video of NFL star Tyreek Hill's arrest after a traffic stop on the way to the stadium

CNN
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Miami-Dade police on Monday released bodycam footage of officers arresting Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill in the hours before the wide receiver was due to play in Sunday's season-opening game.

CNN reviews video of the four officers responding to a traffic stop. One shows the first contact, where an officer knocks on the driver's side window of Hill's sports car after he signals the wide receiver to stop. Hill rolls down the window as the officer knocks and responds, “Hey, don't knock on my window like that.”

The officer asks Hill why he isn't wearing a seatbelt. Hill doesn't respond and repeatedly says, “Don't knock on my window like that.”

The officer asks why Hill had rolled up his window and says he had to knock to let Hill know he was there.

“Give me my ticket, brother, so I can go. I'm late. Do what you have to do,” Hill says before rolling up the window.

The officer tells him to keep the window closed and knocks again, but Hill doesn't seem to respond. The officer knocks again and tells Hill to keep the window closed. Hill rolls the window down a little and responds, “Don't tell me what to do.”

The officer threatens to force Hill to get out of the car if he does not keep the window closed and then immediately orders him to get out.

Another officer opens Hill's car door and tries to pull him out of the car. He says, “Get out!” to which Hill responds, “I'm getting out.”

Two police officers shove Hill to the ground while another officer stands nearby. Hill repeatedly says, “I'm under arrest,” and the officer physically restraining him says, “When we tell you to do something, you do it. Do you understand? Do you understand? Not what you want, but what we tell you. You're a little bit f***ing confused.”

Hill can be heard saying, “I'm getting out, I'm getting out,” and the same officer says, “Too late.”

Hill told NBC on Monday that he had just opened the door to get out of the car when officers dragged him out.

“If I wasn't Tyreek Hill, God knows, the worst that could happen is I would have been shot or incarcerated” and “ended up behind bars, you know, for a simple speeding ticket,” Hill told NBC News.

“And it’s crazy that officials would go that far.”

Police released more than an hour and a half of footage from officers' body cameras on Monday evening, despite saying earlier in the day that the video would not be released until an internal investigation was completed.

“While standard protocol is not to release bodycam footage until the internal review is complete, the available bodycam footage – totaling 105 minutes and 33 seconds – will be released the day after the incident to reinforce the department's commitment to keeping the public informed,” Police Department Director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement.

Hill's agent called the Miami Dolphins star's detention “heartbreaking, disturbing and inappropriate” in an interview with CNN on Monday, while the local police union began to defend the officers involved.

Speaking to CNN's Sara Sidner, Drew Rosenhaus said he “couldn't believe” what happened after he was stopped for a traffic violation.

“Tyreek just wanted to go to work, he wanted to play a game, he just wanted to do his job,” Rosenhaus said on CNN News Central. “For police officers to arrest him, throw him on the ground like that, put their knee on him, hit him – it's just devastating.”

Daniels said Sunday that an investigation into the incident had been launched and that one of the officers involved had been placed on administrative duty. Police confirmed to CNN that a second Dolphins player, Calais Campbell, was also handcuffed as he attempted to discuss the situation with officers at the scene.

On Monday, the South Florida Police Benevolent Association defended the actions of the officers involved and stressed that Hill was never arrested.

“After being stopped, Mr. Hill did not immediately cooperate with police officers on the scene, who handcuffed Mr. Hill as per protocol and for his immediate safety,” Steadman Stahl, the organization's president, said in a statement to CNN.

“Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground. After the situation was resolved within a few minutes, Mr. Hill was given two tickets and allowed to leave.

“While we are awaiting the conclusion of the investigation in this case, based on what we know, we support the actions of our officers but look forward to continued open communication in the future,” Stahl added.

The officers' actions were “excessive,” said Julius B. Collins, a lawyer for the wide receiver, adding that his team was exploring all legal options.

“Mr. Hill understands the inherently dangerous job that law enforcement performs and knows that officer safety is important. Yet, at no time did Mr. Hill pose a threat to those officers,” Collins said Monday. “We believe this matter escalated because overzealous officers attempted to impose their authority on Mr. Hill because they were not satisfied with how quickly he complied with their request and because Mr. Hill did not roll down his window far enough as they desired.”

Collins said Hill was aware of his celebrity status, but “he is acutely aware that so many others in similar situations have suffered a different fate and how fortunate everyone involved was to emerge from this matter unscathed.”

Hill scored an 80-yard touchdown in Miami's 20-17 win over the Jaguars and celebrated by putting his arms behind his back and locking his wrists together – perhaps a nod to being handcuffed the previous Sunday.

Rosenhaus said the celebration was an opportunity for Hill to “come to terms” with the incident.

“It's just embarrassing to see images of you lying on the ground in handcuffs and the police kneeling on you, shoving you and treating you like a criminal,” he said. “I absolutely believe that this celebration was his way of coping with something that was so disturbing.”

Rosenhaus added: “To Tyreek's credit, he had himself under control. He was able to play the game, make a sensational play, an 80-yard touchdown that helped the team win and come back from behind. His performance was epic.”

“But what happened before the game was disgraceful, unacceptable and should not happen in this society. Who would have thought after George Floyd that we would still see people being treated so unfairly and unnecessarily?”

Hill said after Sunday's game that he was still confused about his pregame encounter with police.

“I wasn't disrespectful because my mom didn't raise me that way, didn't cuss, didn't do anything like that. Like I said, I'm still trying to figure it out,” Hill said at his postgame press conference.

Rosenhaus told CNN on Monday that there was “no question” that the Hill incident would have “consequences.”

“If Tyreek hadn't been a world-class athlete and in incredible shape, who knows what impact this would have had on him,” he said. “He was in pain. He was in pain. He was physically and mentally devastated – something we are seeking answers to – and we will pursue this to the fullest extent of the law.”

On Monday, Campbell recalled arriving at the scene of his teammate's arrest and trying to defuse the situation.

On ESPN, the 17-year NFL veteran said he got out of his car with his hands up and walked toward the police officers, saying, “I'm a friend of his (Hill). I don't know what's going on here, but I think the situation is definitely unnecessary.”

Campbell said he was asked to leave and an officer threatened to tow his car if he didn't leave.

“I told him, I'll stand where you want me to stand. You tell me how far back I have to go and I'll go back, but I'm not leaving the scene,” Campbell said. “This is my friend here. I'm here to support him. I'm not leaving.”

Campbell, who is in his first season with the Dolphins, said that after he failed to vacate his room, the police officer told him he was under arrest and handcuffed him.

The defensive tackle said Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith was also on the scene when Hill pleaded with his two teammates: “Don't leave me alone. Don't leave me alone.”

Campbell told ESPN he was grateful to be there to support Hill.

“Situations like this can escalate quickly. We see this so often in America, that things like this go completely wrong. This is a great opportunity for us to use this platform to speak out against police brutality. This situation could have been a lot worse if we hadn't been there.”

After being released by police, Campbell said Hill was “frustrated and nervous” and told others he would not play against the Jaguars.

The Dolphins are back in action on Thursday when they face their division rivals, the Buffalo Bills, at Hard Rock Stadium.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.