Drew Rosenhaus thinks police officers involved in Tyreek Hill detainment should be fired
Prominent NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, is calling for the officers involved in his client’s controversial detainment Sunday to be fired for their actions.
One officer has already been placed on administrative leave by the Miami-Dade Police Department, director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement Sunday night.
“For me, personally, I think the police officers that did that to Tyreek shouldn’t be in that position,” Rosenhaus said on the “Dan Le Batard Show” on Tuesday while watching clips of the incident.
“They should be let go. Look at the guy who just kicked him right there. That guy should be fired. That’s out of control. The guy that jumped in, put him in a chokehold? There’s no place for a police officer to have a badge that operates like that when Tyreek wasn’t being aggressive or violent or fighting back in any capacity. That was horrendous how they treated him. They didn’t treat him like a human being.”
The Miami-Dade Police Department is coming under scrutiny after the release of bodycam videos showing how several police officers handled the detainment on Hill, along with their treatment of his Dolphins teammates present at the scene in tight end Jonnu Smith and defensive tackle Calais Campbell.
The officers are shown to be aggressive, both with force and attitude, toward the trio, including during their handcuffing of the Dolphins star receiver after pulling him out of his car.
The officers cited Hill for reckless driving and not wearing a seat belt, per ESPN, during his trip to Hard Rock Stadium for the Dolphins’ 20-17 win over the Jaguars in Week 1.
When asked if Hill agreed with his view, Rosenhaus said “of course” before clarifying his response after a follow-up question asking if Hill believed the officers should be fired.
“Well, I’ll let Tyreek speak to that,” Rosenhaus said. “That’s my opinion. He and I have not had that specific discussion. But, certainly, I would recommend to Tyreek and the legal team that that’s something that we pursue. You know, I think he deserves an apology from each and every one of those police officers involved. And the ones that abused their authority and power should not be on the force, in my opinion, moving forward.”
Hill’s lawyer, Julius B. Collins, said his client is looking into what action can be taken.
“We believe that this matter was escalated due to to overzealous officers attempting to impose their authority on Mr. Hill because they were not pleased with how fast he complied with their request and that Mr. Hill did not roll down his window far enough to their liking,” Collins told the Miami Herald.
“Mr. Hill’s legal team is exploring all legal remedies that may be available to Mr. Hill as we believe that the officers’ actions on Sept. 8, 2024 were excessive.”
The Dolphins didn’t go as far as Rosenhaus in calling for anyone to lose their job, but they said there needs to be reprecussions.
“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,” the Dolphins said in their statement Sunday. “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.”
The South Florida Police Benevolent Association, though, put the blame on Hill.
“Before the Dolphins game yesterday, an incident occurred where Tyreek Hill was placed in handcuffs before being released,” South Florida PBA president Steadman Stahl said in a release. “First, to be clear, at no time was he ever under arrest. He was briefly 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 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.
“Once the situation was sorted out within a few minutes, Mr. Hill was issued two traffic citations and was free to leave.”
Daniels said the department is investigating the detainment.
“In our commitment to transparency and maintaining public trust, we are releasing the body-worn camera (BWC) footage related to the recent incident involving Tyreek Hill. While standard protocol is to release body cam footage after the internal review has concluded, the available body cam footage – a combined 105 minutes 33 seconds – is being released the day following the incident to reinforce the Department’s commitment to keeping the public informed,” Daniels said in a statement.
“The department is committed to conducting a thorough, objective investigation into this matter, and we will continue to update the public on the outcome of that process.”
Daniels announced Sunday she had started an Internal Affairs investigation to handle the matter and the officer will be on administrative duties until the investigation ends.
“I’m committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers,” she said in the statement.
One recent video shows that one of the officers involved did not know who Hill was, saying, ‘Oh, f–k. Really?” after learning that it was the star receiver.
The situation did not faze Hill during the Dolphins’ win as caught seven passes for 130 yards and an 80-yard touchdown to help the Dolphins overcome a 17-7 deficit and win on a 52-yard field goal at the buzzer.
