The officer who arrested Tyreek Hill was placed on administrative leave and is now demanding reinstatement.
Tyreek Hill (Image via IMAGO)
Tyreek Hill‘s arrest did not sit well with the community since the wide receiver was being subjected to excessive force for a minor violation. Hill has not directly made statements against the police officers involved in the incident, until now.
The wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins stated in Sunday’s post-game press conference that he needed some time to process things. After much thought, Tyreek Hill is calling for the officer who was placed on administrative leave to be fired.
Tyreek Hill’s attorney Julius Collins released a statement on his client’s behalf demanding the “immediate termination” of the “escalating officer” who was placed on administrative leave in this case. From the bodycam footage released, the escalating officer is the individual who dragged Hill out of his car.
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The police officer has applied for reinstatement of duties a day after he was placed on administrative leave
Hill’s statement focuses on the violations of Standard Operating Procedures while arresting him. The officer in question is 27-year-old Danny Torres. He can be seen grabbing Hill by the back of his head and pushing him onto the ground after cuffing him.
Tyreek Hill (via IMAGO)
Each action that a law enforcement official takes is governed by standard operating procedures. 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 statement read.
Despite Hill’s initial reluctance to step out of the car, the police officer failed at his fundamental job, which is to de-escalate situations. The police union continued to have Torres’ back and released a statement on Monday which put the onus on Tyreek Hill. As the wide receiver was “uncooperative with the responding officers,” it led to an escalation of the situation.
just received this statement from Tyreek Hill’s attorney, Julius Collins — They are demanding Miami-Dade PD officer Danny Torres be terminated “effective immediately”
Hill & Collins say they are not accusing Torres of being racist, but said his use of force was “excessive” pic.twitter.com/FZUboKLtNJ
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) September 11, 2024
In the statement, Hill’s attorney pointed out the historical oppression that Black and minority communities have faced and continue to. The race factor cannot be taken out of consideration in this situation. Apart from using excess force on Hill, the officers proceeded to handcuff his teammates Jonny Smith and Calais Campbell, who were unarmed and merely attempting to de-escalate the situation.
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 statement further read.
The law firm representing Torres criticized the Miami-Dade PD’s decision to place him on administrative leave and dubbed it as a “premature” decision. While supporting the call for an internal investigation and review of the situation, the attorneys urged all parties involved to refrain from making statements that are likely to misrepresent Torres’ actions and give a wrong notion to the public regarding Hill’s detainment.