Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill appealed for police to "make a change" following a traffic stop that ended in his detention on Monday, Fox News reported. The NFL wide receiver was responding to an earlier release of bodycam footage from the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The stunning recording showed the exchange between Hill and the police officers who initiated the traffic stop. Hill was somewhat uncooperative and combative, and police officers responded in kind.
This led to calls for the officers to be reprimanded. Hill responded to the release of the footage with the admonishment on X, formerly Twitter. "Let's make a change," he wrote.
Let’s make a change
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) September 10, 2024
Hill was later asked to elaborate on his tweet during an interview on CNN. The 30-year-old athlete didn't accept any responsibility but instead blamed the police.
"I’m not a big believer in dividing people. I don’t believe in all that. I believe in bringing people together because that’s my purpose in life. I do football camps all across the world trying to bring different people together … because we in this together, baby. We’re on this Earth together. We gotta live together," Hill began.
"So, when I say, ‘Let’s make a change,’ let’s do it together. So, Miami PD, really all officers across the world, one officer doesn’t make the whole group look bad," Hill claimed.
"Everybody has bad apples. Every team has bad apples. It’s my job to use my platform and my resources so that way I’m able to align with these different stations," the eight-time Pro Bowler went on.
"We done tried it all. We done protest. We even took a knee. We done did walks. So what’s next? Me and my wife are brainstorming on how we can be a part of this change. It’s important to us. We want to be able to change lives all across the world – not just Miami."
According to the New York Post, a written statement from the South Florida Police Benevolent Associate said that Hill was detained for being "uncooperative" during the stop. "Before the Dolphins game yesterday, an incident occurred where Tyreek Hill was placed in handcuffs before being released," South Florida PBA president Steadman Stahl wrote.
"Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground," the statement continued.
"Once the situation was sorted out within a few minutes, Mr. Hill was issued two traffic citations and was free to leave. While we are confident in the actions that led to the stop of Mr. Hill, as with any investigation, we will wait for all of the facts to come out, along with any explanation Mr. Hill may have for his actions that initiated this unfortunate incident," Stahl wrote.
One of the officers was placed on leave while the Miami-Dade Police Department's Internal Affairs investigates. Hill made light of the situation during a touchdown celebration during Monday night's game as a teammate pretended to handcuff him in the endzone.
There is plenty of blame to go around for what happened during that traffic stop. However, Hill does no favors to his community by stoking tensions with police officers while taking no responsibility for his own part in the incident.
