Traffic citations against Tyreek Hill from when he was roughly detained by police in front of the Miami Dolphins' stadium in September have been dismissed.
Hill, 30, received a $179 ticket for a careless driving violation and a $129 ticket for a seat belt violation on his way to his team's season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 8.
Video of Miami-Dade Police officers' treatment of the famed wide receiver, who was handcuffed and put facedown on the ground, went viral and resulted in Officer Danny Torres being placed on administrative leave. Officer Manuel Batista was also involved in the incident.
Neither MDPD officer showed up to a recent hearing in Hill's case. Newsweek has contacted representatives for the Miami-Dade Police Department for comment.
"As anticipated, the traffic citations against Tyreek Hill were dismissed," Hill's lawyer Devon M. Jacob told Newsweek in an email on Tuesday.
"Police officers should not issue citations unless they are willing to testify in court, under oath, with respect to same. Officer Torres and Batista's absence from court today evidences their knowledge of wrongdoing. These officers should be disciplined for their failure to appear," he said.
Hill initially claimed he followed orders from the officers and was cooperative during the stop. However, police bodycam footage showed officers repeatedly asking the NFLer to roll down his tinted car window, but the eight-time Pro Bowler did not comply and rolled the window up.
"I will say I could have been better," Hill later said to local media about the incident. "I could have let down my window in that instant. But the thing about me is, I don't want attention. I don't want to be cameras-out, phones-on-you in that moment. But at the end of the day, I'm human. I've got to follow rules. I've got to do what everyone else would do."
Hill added: "Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not," Hill said. "But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently."
Another segment of the bodycam footage showed officers commanding a handcuffed Hill to sit down on the sidewalk. One officer held Hill's shoulder while another came up behind him, grabbed him around the back to the front of his chest, and sat him on the pavement.
"Hold on, brah. I just had surgery on my knee! I just had surgery on my knee," Hill said.
Earlier this month, Hill told ESPN's Lisa Salters that the police detainment worsened his preseason left wrist injury.
"He said an initial MRI showed that there was a torn ligament in that wrist and that he's been playing through it," Salters reported from the Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams matchup. "He said he's been quiet about it because he hasn't really known how to feel or what to do or how to deal because he's not used to being injured."
She added: "He said, 'That arrest messed me up,' and he said, 'I'm gonna not let it stop me.'"
Hill has said he is considering surgery for his wrist injury but will continue to play through the pain.
"Even if I gotta cut my wrist off, I'm still out there. Because I love the game of football," Hill told reporters on November 14.
Officer Torres' personnel file obtained by Newsweek after the Hill incident showed he had a history of use of force, suspensions, and written reprimands throughout his nearly 28-year tenure.
Torres has been suspended from the police department six times since first being hired on October 7, 1996. While specific details on each of these suspensions were not included in the personnel file, Torres' suspensions have ranged from five to 20 days.
Hill has repeatedly called for Torres to be fired.
"Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. He's gotta go, man," Hill said of Torres in September. "In that instant right there, not only did he treat me bad, but he also treated my teammates with disrespect. He had some crazy words toward them and they didn't even do nothing. Like, what did they do to you? They're just walking on the sidewalk. He's got to go, man."
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