by Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill said Wednesday he could have handled himself better when he was pulled over for speeding, but is still calling for the police officer who pulled him out of his car to be fired.
“I have to say, I could have done better,” Hill told reporters three days after he was stopped, dragged from his car, pulled to the ground and handcuffed.
The situation quickly escalated after Hill, who had been asked to roll down his window, rolled it back up after handing over his license.
“I could have rolled down my window at that moment,” Hill said. “But the thing about me is, man, I don’t want attention. I don’t want cameras or cell phones pointed at me at that moment – but at the end of the day, I’m only human. I have to follow rules. I have to do what anybody else would do.”
“Does that give them the right to literally beat me up? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a little differently.”
Miami-Dade police said Monday they would “thoroughly and objectively investigate” the incident, which resulted in Hill receiving two traffic tickets after he was released, after he starred in Miami’s NFL victory over Jacksonville on Sunday.
The police union representing the officers involved accused Hill of being “uncooperative.”
Officer Danny Torres, who pulled Hill from his car and handcuffed him as he lay facedown on the sidewalk, has been placed on “administrative duties” for the duration of the investigation, Miami-Dade police said Tuesday.
Hill reiterated his view that Torres should be fired, not only for his treatment of him, but also for handcuffing teammate Calais Campbell, who stopped when he noticed the incident.
“He’s got to go, man,” Hill said of Torres. “Because in that moment, not only did he mistreat me, you know what I mean? He disrespected my teammates. He said some crazy words about them and they didn’t even do anything. What did they do to you? They just walked on the pavement.”
The Dolphins host the Buffalo Bills on Thursday and Hill was excited to be back on the field.
“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.”
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