Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins is demanding the firing of one of the police officers involved in his traffic stop

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill acknowledged Wednesday that he could have handled himself better in the opening moments of a weekend traffic stop in which he was handcuffed and dragged from his car by police officers near the team's stadium.

Hill also said he wanted one of the officers involved in the incident to be fired from the police force.

REGARD: Video of a traffic stop in Tyreek Hill sparks new discussions about policing in America

Hill said he wished he had done some things “a little differently” on Sunday, such as leaving his car window closed when officers asked him to do so. Instead, he rolled the window up. From there, the incident quickly escalated.

“I have to say, I could have done better,” Hill said. “I could have rolled down my window at that moment. But I don't want attention. I don't want to be standing there with cameras and cell phones out at that moment. But at the end of the day, I'm only human. I have to follow the rules. I have to do what everyone else would do.”

“Does that give them the right to literally beat me up? Absolutely not,” Hill continued. “But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a little differently.”

Miami-Dade Police Director Stephanie Daniels launched an internal investigation Sunday afternoon and one officer was placed on administrative leave. That officer, Danny Torres, wants to be reinstated immediately, his attorney said this week. Meanwhile, the Dolphins have said they want “swift and decisive action” against all officers involved.

Hill did not mince his words when outlining what action he believes should be taken against the officer.

“Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. He's got to go, man,” Hill said. “At that moment, not only did he mistreat me, he disrespected my teammates. He said some crazy words about them and they didn't even do anything. Like, what did they do to you? They're just walking on the sidewalk. He's got to go, man.”

Hill was dragged from his car near the team's stadium less than three hours before kickoff of the team's first game. He was laid on the ground and handcuffed, and his teammate Calais Campbell – who drove past the scene of the accident and stopped to play peacemaker – was also handcuffed by police during the incident.

Hill was charged with reckless driving and failure to wear a seatbelt.

The Dolphins play the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, and Hill said he would use the game as therapy to escape thoughts of the incident. He said he would not take a knee – a move many players have used in recent years to protest police brutality – or call for defunding police. Hill has said several times in recent days that he has respect for police officers and that he intends to work in law enforcement after his playing days.

“Right now I'm focused on my job, and that's playing football,” Hill said. “That's all I can be, the best football player I can be.”

Body camera footage of the incident released by the Miami-Dade Police Department on Monday evening showed that the traffic stop quickly escalated after Hill rolled up his car window.

Hill rolled down the driver's side window and handed his license to a police officer who had been knocking on the window. Hill — one of the game's best and most dynamic players, an eight-time Pro Bowl player who led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards last season — then repeatedly told the officer to stop knocking before rolling the dark-tinted window back up.

After a back and forth around the window, bodycam video shows an officer pulling Hill out of his car by his arm and head, then pushing him face-first onto the ground. Officers handcuffed Hill and one pressed his knee into the middle of his back.

Hill said he was in a movie theater when he got the news Monday night that the footage had been released. He left the theater to watch it and said he hopes people who see the video — both civilians and police officers — use it as a tool to learn and improve, even drawing a parallel to the way football players improve by watching game film.

“It's shocking, man,” Hill said. “It's really crazy to know that there are police officers in this world doing this with their body cameras on. That's sad. That's really sad. That starts another conversation and leads to 'What would they do if they didn't have body cameras?' which is even crazier.”

The confrontation and what was seen on the bodycam videos of the six police officers has once again brought the experiences of black people with the police to the forefront – a topic that has been discussed nationwide for some time.

Hill has been involved in off-field incidents before, but his teammates have spoken out this week condemning those who have used Hill's past allegations of violence as justification for excessive use of force. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that Hill continues to grow as a person and that he has spoken to him several times about why that is important. He also acknowledged that Hill could have handled the incident differently, without giving away specifics.

“A conversation about what provoked the unnecessary,” McDaniel said, “is trivial compared to the unnecessary.”