NFL-Dolphins' Hill says 'could have been better' during traffic stop

By Frank Pingue

(Reuters) -Miami Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill acknowledged on Wednesday that he could have behaved better during a weekend traffic stop in which he was pulled from his car and handcuffed, but said that did not give police a reason to treat him as they did.

The incident on Sunday escalated over a dispute about Hill's raised car window, which an officer insisted he reopen. That prompted officers to forcefully remove the five-time All-Pro from the vehicle and throw him to the ground before placing him in handcuffs.

"I will say I could have been better," Hill said while meeting with reporters for the first time since bodycam footage of the incident was released on Monday.

"I could have let down my window in that instant. But the thing about me is, I don't want attention. I don't want to be cameras-out, phones-on-you in that moment. But at the end of the day, I'm human. I got to follow rules. I go to do what everyone else would do," he said.

"Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently."

The incident, which led the Miami-Dade Police Department to open an Internal Affairs investigation, occurred hours before the Dolphins' NFL season opener when Hill, who is Black, was pulled over for speeding near his team's home stadium.

Body camera footage shows a police officer asking Hill through his open car window why he did not have his seat belt on. After a brief exchange, Hill rolls his window up and the officer knocks on it, ordering him to roll it down.

Hill partially rolls the window down and the officer tells him to get out of the car. Audio of the exchange shows the officer becoming increasingly belligerent toward Hill and two other Dolphins players who tried to assist.

Another officer then comes over, opens the car door and grabs Hill by the back of the head, forcing him face down on the pavement as he puts him in handcuffs with a knee pressed against his back.

Officers then picked up the still-handcuffed Hill and led him to the sidewalk, where they ask him to sit. Hill asks them to slow down because he "just had surgery on my knee" before an officer grabbed him from behind and forced him into a seated position on the curb.

"It's shell-shocking, man," said Hill. "It's really crazy to know that you have officers in this world that would literally do that with bodycams on. It's sad. It's really sad.

"Which brings up another conversation and leads into ‘What would they do if they didn’t have bodycams?,’ which is even crazier."

One of the officers involved in the traffic stop was placed on administrative duties as a result of the incident, but Hill feels that he should be fired.

"Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. He gotta go, man,” Hill said. “In that instant right there, not only did he treat me bad, he also treated my teammates with disrespect.

"He had some crazy words towards them and they didn't even do nothing. Like, what did they do to you? They just walking on the sidewalk. So, he's got to go, man.”

Miami-Dade police did not respond to a request to comment on the demand that the officer be fired.

Hill still managed to play in Sunday's game, scoring an 80-yard touchdown en route to the team's 20-17 victory.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Bill Berkrot)