Body-camera footage from the roadside detention of Miami Dolphins player Tyreek Hill led Miami-Dade Police Department Director Stephanie Daniels to temporarily transfer one of the officers to administrative duties, she said Monday morning.
In a brief interview, Daniels said she had seen a portion of the body-cam footage from officers involved in the pre-game incident on Sunday, when Hill was handcuffed and placed on the curb during a traffic stop on his way to Hard Rock Stadium.
“I’ve seen some of it,” Daniels said of the footage. “That is why one of the officers is placed on administrative duties.”
READ MORE: Officers investigated after Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill detained before season opener
Daniels, an appointee of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, has not said in public statements that there was misconduct in the detention of Hill. In press statements, Hill called his detention unjustified and speculated what would have happened to him if he wasn’t a celebrity athlete in that situation.
“What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what those guys would have” done during the stop, he said at a press conference after the game.
The county’s police department has declined to release the body-cam footage, citing an ongoing investigation into the incident. The Miami Herald requested the body-camera video from Miami-Dade police on Sunday.
Passersby to the 1 p.m. game captured scenes of Hill cuffed and with an officer’s knee on his back during the detention.
On Monday morning, Miami-Dade’s police union issued a statement saying Hill was never placed under arrest and was “not immediately cooperative” at the start of the traffic stop.
Steadman Stahl, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said in the statement that after Hill was stopped, he “was not immediately cooperative with the officers on 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 said Hill was not arrested but was “briefly detained for officers’ safety” and later issued two traffic citations.
In his comments to reporters on Sunday, Hill said that he was not disrespectful to officers and that he had “no idea” why he was cuffed.
Daniels was attending a County Commission committee on Monday morning when she gave a brief interview. She provided no details on what she saw in the body-cam footage.
In a statement Sunday, Daniels said: “Following the incident involving Tyreek Hill, I have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter. One of the officers involved in the incident has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation is being conducted. I’m committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers.”
The officers involved in the Hill stop were likely paid for by the Dolphins as part of the team’s agreement with Miami-Dade to pay off-duty rates for law enforcement services on game days. A team source said the Dolphins pay about $200,000 per game for dozens of officers at and around the stadium. Those officers are still under the authority of the Miami-Dade Police Department, but the team pays Miami-Dade for their time.
Stahl said that the county aims for about 150 officers per game and that the slots are filled by officers interested in the extra pay. “It’s all on a volunteer basis,” he said.
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