MIAMI (AFP) — The police union representing officers who detained Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill accused the National Football League star of being “uncooperative” during the traffic stop which led to him being handcuffed and placed face down on the ground.
Hill, 30, was detained as he drove to Sunday’s home game between the Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Footage of the incident shared on social media later appeared to show one of the officers at the scene manhandling Hill.
Hill was released shortly afterwards and reportedly given two citations for careless driving and a seatbelt violation.
The Miami-Dade Police Department has launched an internal affairs investigation and placed one of the officers on administrative leave.
However, the South Florida Police Benevolent Association defended the conduct of officers on Monday, saying that Hill had “initiated” the incident and had been detained for reasons of “officer safety.”
“Before the Dolphins game yesterday, an incident occurred where Tyreek Hill was placed in handcuffs before being released,” union president Steadman Stahl said in a statement.
“He was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great danger.”
“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs.”
“Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground,” Stahl added.
“While we are confident in the actions that led to the stop of Mr. Hill as with any investigation, we will wait for all the facts to come out, along with any explanation Mr. Hill may have for his actions that initiated this unfortunate incident.”
Hill, who scored a spectacular 80-yard touchdown in Miami’s win over Jacksonville on Sunday, later said he had no idea what prompted the police to handcuff him.
Hill, who is African-American, suggested that his race might have been a factor in the stop.
“I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do,” he told a press conference.