'Plenty of blame to go around' after incident between Dolphins' Tyreek Hill, Miami-Dade police officers

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - There are always two sides to every story, and that appears to be the case in the incident involving Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill. 

Last Sunday, Miami-Dade police stopped Hill as he was driving to Hard Rock Stadium for the Dolphins' game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. USA Today reported that Hill was driving his McLaren 720S coupe at approximately 60 mph when he was stopped by police about three hours before the game, which is 20 mph faster than the posted speed limit. That was when the incident went sideways. 

Police video shows Hill refusing to roll down his dark-tinted window upon request of police officers. Many police officers believe, and statistics show, that dark-tinted windows are an officer safety issue. When Hill refused to cooperate with police, he was forcibly removed from the car and handcuffed for approximately 15 minutes. As a result of the incident, Hill, his agent, and some NFL players called for the officer to be fired. 

The officer in question, 27-year veteran Danny Torres, was placed on administrative leave by Miami-Dade Police Director Stephanie V. Daniels pending an internal affairs investigation. 

Hill initially claimed he did nothing wrong, and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, called Torres’ conduct “completely unacceptable.” 

However, Ignacio Alvarez, Torres’ attorney who works for the ALGO Law Firm, and Israel Reyes of the Reyes Law Firm released a joint statement to Fox News Digital on Monday calling for his “immediate reinstatement.” The police department has released full bodycam footage of the incident. 

“While we believe the decision to place our client on leave was premature, we respect Director Daniels’ call for a thorough review of the incident involving Mr. Tyreek Hill, a stance we fully support,” the attorneys said. “We urge all parties to refrain from making public statements that may misrepresent our clients’ actions and mislead the public about Mr. Hill’s detainment. 

“We call for our client’s immediate reinstatement and a complete, thorough, and objective investigation, as Director Daniels has also advocated. Our client will not comment until this investigation is concluded and the fact are fully revealed.” 

Meanwhile, the South Florida Police Benevolent Association also defended Officer Torres. The police union’s president, Steadman Stahl, said Hill was detained for “officer safety after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger.

“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs,” the statement read. “Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground.” 

Stahl reminded anyone coming into contact with police officers to “obey lawful police commands first and complain later.” 

That sentiment was expressed by someone some would consider an unlikely source, Orlando Magic Forward Jonathan Isaac. 

Isaac posted on X that the video of Hill’s detention should be “shown to every black boy on how not to act when being pulled over,” Fox News Digital reported. 

“It’s immature as black men to put our lives in the hands of officers in this way! Especially when you’re of his caliber,” Isaac wrote. “Neither side has an obligation to be nice…but 9.99 times out of 10 you gone [sic] get what you give with LE. Especially when you’re being pulled over for a valid reason…That’s fair…There are unjust exceptions/escalations of course.

“This wasn’t anyone’s best moment on both sides. A nothing burger imo.” 

In demanding Torres’ firing, Hill’s attorney, Julius Collins, said they were demanding Torres’ termination. 

“We are demanding for the immediate termination of the officer that has been placed on administrative leave,” Hill said in a statement through Collins. “Each action that a law enforcement official take [sic] is governed by standard operating procedures. 

“We are of the opinion that the officers’ use of force was excessive, escalating, and reckless. We are demanding that the officer be terminated effective immediately.” 

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, however, said there was blame to go around. 

“When it comes to Tyreek Hill, we also can’t let him completely off the hook based on the statement that was made by the police department in Florida,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday. “They said he was ‘uncooperative.’ We have a responsibility on this show and any kind of platform we can to make sure we’re doing anything we can to save lives, to make sure we’re doing what we can to ensure that somehow, some way, you get to live another day and fight that battle.

"We know how wrong they were. The police were excessive. No excuses. They should be ashamed of themselves, the way they acted. They just went overboard. Totally true."

Smith then shifted gears. 

“Here’s the problem–we all came on the air seeing the initial footage in complete unadulterated support for Tyreek Hill. You pull over, they tell you to roll down your window. What’s the first thing Shannon (Sharpe) just talked about? The first thing they do when they pull us over. They pull me over, all my windows are down. My hands are on the steering wheel. That is not what Tyreek Hill did. 

[...]

“See, we gotta be responsible. The point I’m trying to make is this–in no way should the officers be excused for what they did…But I also am saying, ‘Yo, Tyreek, yo, bro, you didn’t deserve that. I’m not implying that you did. But the police officers do have the power. When they pull up on you, and they tell you roll down that window, and they tell you to give them your driver’s license, and they tell you to get out of that car, that’s what you gotta do.” 

In an interview on CNN Monday, Hill told the host that he “feared” for his life during the incident.