On Tuesday, agent Drew Rosenhaus said the police officers involved in the aggressive detainment of Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill should be fired. Rosenhaus was careful to say that was his opinion, and that he wasn’t speaking for Hill.
Hill has since spoken.
Hill’s lawyer, Julius Collins, issued a statement on Tuesday night calling for the firing of the officer who has since been placed on “administrative duties.”
“Each action that a law enforcement official take[s] is governed by standard operating procedures,” the statement read, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com. “We are of the opinion that the officer’s use of force was excessive, escalating, and reckless. We are demanding that the officer be terminated effective immediately. . . .
“The events that occurred on Sunday, September 8, 2024, are just a reminder of the realities of the many injustices that people of Black and minority communities face at the hands of law enforcement. While we are in no way accusing the officer of being racist, we are accusing the customs and practices of law enforcement from a historical standpoint of being discriminatory and oppressive to Black and minority communities. We cannot ignore this fact and remain silent on the issue just because it’s a tough conversation.”
The police union has accused Hill of being “uncooperative” during the traffic stop. And while the bodycam video permits a conclusion that Hill wasn’t as cooperative as he could have or should have been, the response was excessive.
It became, in our view, not about securing his compliance and cooperation but about punishing him for not immediately and completely complying and cooperating. Really, it felt like old-school corporal punishment. And it shouldn’t be a pass-fail pop quiz that promises an ass-kicking if the immediate reaction isn’t anything other than, “Hello, sir. Yes, sir. Whatever you want, sir.”
Hill has not ruled out litigation. That’s always one of the best ways to get to the entire truth as to what caused a situation to go sideways.
While the bodycam video provides some answers, there are still plenty of questions. A lawsuit might answer all of them — and it might give police departments throughout the nation a warning as to what will happen if/when someone who was pulled over for a traffic violation gets treated like a kid from the early ‘70s dared to “talk back” to his or her parents.
