Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill preaches unity in aftermath of police video

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill continues to present a positive outlook after his traffic stop with Miami-Dade police. Hill was pulled over by four officers who initially asked him to roll down his window, and then forced him to the ground for “resisting.”

Miami-Dade Police released body cam footage of the incident and stated, “(Hill) was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great risk of danger,” said South Florida Police Benevolent Association president Steadman Stahl. “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.”

The body cam footage has been criticized by pundits and social media users as being too forceful, despite Hill’s failure to fully comply with the officers’ request to roll down his window. Hill only lowered it slightly, which led to the officer losing his temper and demanding that Hill step out of the vehicle.

Tyreek Hill speaks on CNN

In his CNN interview, Tyreek Hill emphasized his commitment to using his platform to foster change between police conduct and Black America. Hill acknowledged that there are “bad apples” on both sides but believes there is potential for mutual understanding where situations do not escalate.

Hill explained his delayed compliance with the officers: “I was shocked. It was crazy because it all happened so fast. Like for me, it just all happened so fast, and I really couldn’t gather everything that was happening… I wasn’t moving fast because, you know, I have injuries, I have things that I go through. I play a physical sport; I’ve been doing this for a moment now, man, so I’m dealing with some stuff, so I guess the officers felt like I wasn’t doing it on their timing,” Hill added. “I was doing it but I’m still kind of shell-shocked from it. I’m embarrassed.”

Hill also spoke about efforts to unify police and citizens: “We tried it all. We protested. We took a knee. What’s next? We’re brainstorming (with his wife) on how we can be a part of this change.”

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