'Despicable behavior': Cop who arrested NFL star outside stadium on game day placed on leave

10 September 2024

Just before the Miami Dolphins' home opener on Sunday afternoon, star wide receiver Tyreek Hill was arrested just outside of the stadium as fans watched. Now, the officer at the center of the fracas is on desk duty.

NBC News reported Tuesday that Officer Danny Torres, who has been with the Miami-Dade Police Department for 27 years, was placed on administrative leave after the body camera footage of Hill's arrest went public. Hill was ordered to lay facedown on the ground at roughly 10:40 AM on Sunday morning just outside of Hard Rock Stadium after he was pulled over for alleged careless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.

Initially, police declined to release the body camera video from the confrontation, attributing their decision to an ongoing internal investigation. But the footage was finally released Monday, and it shows Torres growing increasingly irritated with Hill after the 2023 NFL MVP candidate rolled up his window while Torres was speaking and urging the officer to hurry up so he could get to the locker room.

"Just give me my ticket bro so I can go," Hill is heard saying from the driver's seat of his 2018 McLaren. "I'm finna be late to the game. Do what you gotta do."

"Keep it down. Hey! Keep your window down!" Torres yelled at Hill after the Dolphins' star wideout rolled up his window. "As a matter of fact, get out of the car. Get out of the car now! We're not playing this game."

The video then shows police yanking Hill's door open, hauling him out of the driver's seat, and forcing him to the ground. Hill complained about the rough treatment by officers, telling them he had been through knee surgery and wouldn't be able to play that afternoon due to how he was being handled in police custody (Hill suffered an ankle injury in the 2023 season that sidelined him for one game).

"What a coincidence. Did you just have surgery on your ears when we told you to put your window down?" One officer said in response.

Fellow Miami Dolphins player Calais Campbell was driving by the scene at the time of Hill's arrest. When he got out of his car to approach his teammate, officers also placed him in handcuffs. A third Dolphins player who pulled over at the scene was not arrested, though officers at the scene requested his driver's license. The Dolphins issued a statement accusing the arresting officer of "despicable behavior."

"I'm just being Black in America, bro," Hill is heard saying while handcuffed.

Despite Hill's arrest and complaints about his treatment at the hands of officers, he nonetheless managed to score a touchdown in the Dolphins' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. That touchdown was the longest of his NFL career, in which Hill sprinted 54 yards after catching a pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Fellow wide receiver Jaylen Waddle participated in Hill's touchdown celebration, in which he mimicked cuffing Hill's hands behind his back and "detaining" him in the end zone.

Click here to read NBC's report in its entirety.

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