MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami-Dade police said Sunday they will investigate why Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was handcuffed and placed facedown on a street by their officers after he was stopped for a traffic violation near Hard Rock Stadium, hours before his team opened the NFL season.
Hill was seen on video posted to the social media site X lying face down on the ground as officers placed his hands behind his back and put handcuffs on him.
Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement Sunday afternoon that she has requested an “immediate review” of the details surrounding the incident.
“We are also reviewing available body camera footage,” Daniels said. “We will provide updates as further information becomes available.”
Hill finished Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with seven catches for 130 yards. His 80-yard touchdown catch sparked the sluggish Dolphins offense and started a comeback for a 20-17 victory on Jason Sanders’ 52-yard field goal as time expired.
After his touchdown, Hill placed his hands behind his back as if to simulate being handcuffed.
Defensive end Calais Campbell said he, too, was handcuffed after stopping to assist upon seeing that Hill was handcuffed as Campbell drove past the scene. Campbell said officers told him the reason was that he disobeyed their direct orders.
“I have no idea, for real. No idea. No idea, man. It was crazy. No idea,” Hill said when asked why he was handcuffed after being stopped, he said, for speeding and reckless driving. “I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. Like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.”
So, too, were the police. Miami-Dade officials reacted quickly, saying an investigation was already opened into the officers’ conduct and that one of the officers was placed on administrative leave.
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, called it a “heartbreaking situation” Sunday morning on ESPN.
“Obviously I love Tyreek,” Rosenhaus said. “I hated to see him in the situation he was in with the police. Apparently he got a ticket for a moving violation entering the stadium.
“How things escalated into the situation that they were in, in handcuffs and being held on the ground with police, is mind-boggling to me. I’m deeply concerned by that. Very troubled. We will be looking into it. We will be investigating this. We will look out for Tyreek, but I’m not going to make any allegations at this time. The most important thing is Tyreek is OK physically. Mentally he was very distraught about what happened.”
The Dolphins, in a statement released shortly after the incident, said several of Hill’s teammates saw the incident and “stopped for support.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has been in contact with the Dolphins but declined to comment further.
