Everyone is talking about the Tyreek Hill incident

UNITED STATES – This incident has rightly given a lot of people something to talk about, especially as an African American in this country. I'm referring to NFL player Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, who was stopped by authorities a block from the stadium where he was about to play for the team, during the kickoff of the first game of the 2024 NFL season.

There is still a lot of information to be found about the incident, but the video says a lot for both sides. The NFL player was arrested and taken into custody by authorities after a traffic stop. He was speeding, more than 20 miles over the 40 mph speed limit, and was not wearing a seatbelt. Yes, speeding is grounds to be arrested by authorities or to warrant a traffic stop. However, as police bodycam footage shows, he was then literally PULLED from the vehicle and placed face down on the ground with an officer pressing his knee into Hill's back while he had his agent on the phone to hear what was happening.

Hill could be heard saying something about the officer banging on his window like crazy. Yes, if you watch the video, you would think Hill was running from police or had committed a serious crime, the way he was treated by authorities during a traffic stop, a traffic stop. I can tell if he had a weapon or was engaging with police. In the video I saw, that's not the case; he seemed obedient. At the same time, Hill should have just followed the officers' orders and done what they asked him to do. Roll down his window, show his license, and stop talking. He was a little testy with authorities and that's never good.

However, this has raised the issue of “DWB,” which many people of color know as “Driving While Black.” It's unfortunate, people don't want to hear it, but it's actually true. As a black man, my parents talked to me when I first started driving about how to respond to the police when pulled over. You follow the rules, you don't do anything rash, and you don't give the police any reason to assume or suspect you're up to no good.

I remember not understanding the reason for the conversation at the time, but it soon became a reality after hearing horror stories about people I know, family and friends being stopped by the police and literally fearing for their lives. I guess I can say it's the invention of the cell phone and the ability to record video with it. Cell phone video can record these disturbing incidents and when police officers are in the wrong or doing something they shouldn't, they need to be held accountable.

Without that footage, it quickly becomes a case of “he said/she said,” and when you're dealing with an authority figure, they're naturally seen as being in the right. That's not to say that all cops are bad, or that the cops here were in the wrong, but the video does raise some questions about excessive use of force.

Now, before anyone accuses me of being potentially anti-police, I have family that works in the police force. My nephew has been a police officer for several years, while my uncle served as a police officer for nearly 40 years. I have family members that risk their lives on patrol every day, so if you don't have family members that do the same, save your criticism for someone else.

It just raises the question of whether police officers are thinking about what they're doing when they have body cameras recording everything that happens. Granted, we haven't seen everything yet and there's still a lot to speculate about, but from what we've seen so far, things aren't looking good for officers.

Hill did a bit of a dance during the game as he scored a touchdown that alluded to what happened earlier in the day, but he needs to take responsibility for his behavior during that traffic stop. He could have listened to the cops and done exactly what they asked of him without resisting. He spoke briefly about the incident during a postgame press conference, but he hasn't spoken about it in detail yet, but the video circulating on all the news channels is starting to develop its own narrative, and there are always three sides to a story: their side, your side, and somewhere in the middle lies the truth.

Written by Jason Jones