Dolphins call police behavior ‘despicable’ after terrifying Tyreek Hill arrest bodycam footage

The Dolphins ripped local police for “overly aggressive and violent conduct directed towards Tyreek Hill, Calais Campbell, and Jonnu Smith.”

Tyreek Hill was detained by local police just hours before the Miami Dolphins faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. Reports slowly trickled out about Hill being put in handcuffs, with teammate Calais Campbell — who was also detained when he showed up to the scene — alleging police used excessive force against Hill.

On Monday evening, Miami-Dade Police released the bodycam footage of Hill’s arrest, and the video is terrifying. It shows police pulling Hill out of his car, throwing him to the ground, kneeling on him, and struggling to put him in handcuffs. Officers escalated the situation when Hill refused to roll his window down to talk to police, and pleaded with them to just give him a ticket for speeding or not wearing his seatbelt so he could make the game on time.

The Miami Dolphins have issued a strong statement admonishing local police for “overly aggressive and violent conduct directed towards Tyreek Hill, Calais Campbell, and Jonnu Smith.”

Watch the bodycam footage of Hill’s arrest here:

Here’s more footage from a second officer’s bodycam:

The Dolphins beat the Jaguars in Week 1, with Hill playing a starring role in the game. He caught an 80-yard touchdown pass and celebrated by having a teammate pretend to put him in handcuffs. By the time the game ended, one of the officers involved in the arrest had already been put on administrative leave.

The Dolphins issued one of the strongest statements about improper policing we’ve ever seen from a pro sports team. “It is both maddening and heartbreaking to watch the very people we trust to protect our community use such unnecessary force and hostility towards these players, yet it is also a reminder that not every situation like this ends in peace,” the team wrote. Read the full statement here:

“We are saddened by the overly aggressive and violent conduct directed towards Tyreek Hill, Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith by police officers before yesterday’s game. It is both maddening and heartbreaking to watch the very people we trust to protect our community use such unnecessary force and hostility towards these players, yet it is also a reminder that not every situation like this ends in peace, as we are grateful this one did. ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ is a question that will carry with resounding impact.

We are proud to have a strong and positive relationship with the Miami-Dade Police Department and other law enforcement agencies and recognize that the vast majority of officers do serve the community with the utmost character and desire to protect all citizens. However, as is on full display in the videos released tonight, there are some officers who mistake their responsibility and commitment to serve with misguided power. While we commend MDPD for taking the right and necessary action to quickly release this footage, we also urge them to take equally swift and strong action against the officers who engaged in such despicable behavior.

We will stand beside Tyreek and our players as they work to use their platform and this situation to make a positive impact in our community. We have always believed that the game of football holds a unique power to bring people together, and we remain hopeful that through the collective work of the players, organization and our community partners, we can create lasting change.”

The police didn’t need to throw Hill from his car and kneel on his back to “keep the community safe.” Officers should have been able to give Hill a ticket without using this much force. Instead, this was another example of an officer abusing his power because he felt personally insulted that a civilian didn’t listen to him. We’ve seen many examples of similar situations escalating to more serious, even deadly, consequences in the recent past. Hill knows he was lucky to get away mostly unscathed. What if he wasn’t Tyreek Hill?

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel offered a powerful response to Hill’s arrest earlier in the day. With the bodycam footage now public, this story isn’t going to go away.