Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is continuing to take action as he pushes for police reform following his viral interaction with officers earlier this month.
Hill has hired a number of new attorneys, including one who helped represent the family of George Floyd after he was murdered by a police officer in 2020.
“Tyreek Hill has just hired a slew of new attorneys — including one who helped represent George Floyd’s family following his death in 2020 — in an effort to try to ignite national police reform following his now-infamous run-in with cops in Miami earlier this month,” TMZ Sports wrote.
“Hill’s original lawyer in the case, Julius B. Collins, announced the hirings on Monday morning … some two weeks after the NFL superstar was pulled out of his sports car and thrown onto the ground by Miami-Dade Police officers during a routine traffic stop.
“Collins revealed he’ll now be joined by Jeffrey A. Neiman, Stephen B. Kelly, Jr. and Devon M. Jacob — who worked alongside Ben Crump in Floyd’s family’s 2020 civil case — as Hill pushes for change in police departments across the nation.”
Jacob, the attorney who had a hand in the Floyd’s family’s civil case, released a statement.
“Tyreek intends to continue the national movement for necessary police reform that George Floyd’s death started,” Jacob said in the statement. “Tyreek is demanding that Congress finally pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.”
Neiman, another new member of Hill’s legal team, chimed in and referenced the track record belonging to the officer who handcuffed the Dolphins star.
“It is already clear that well before this incident, Miami-Dade County should have fired Officer Torres,” Neiman said. “Instead, the County repeatedly returned Officer Torres to the street permitting him to use his police authority to terrorize people.”
Collins, Hill’s original lawyer in the matter, added his thoughts.
“Had officers not realized that they were interacting with Tyreek Hill — a well-known, beloved, educated, and seemingly wealthy Black man — this traffic stop would likely have ended with the driver in jail, in the hospital, or like George Floyd, dead,” Collins added.
Police officers detained Hill and fellow Dolphins player Calais Campbell — who was attempting to defuse the situation — just before Miami’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 8.
Both players were reportedly going to be arrested (and would’ve missed Miami’s Week 1 game) before the Dolphins intervened and were able to get them released.
Footage of Hill’s detainment went viral and sparked major questions about how police handled the situation.
Body cam footage from Tyreek Hill’s detainment has been released pic.twitter.com/fuYnGNvqbv
— Dolphin Nation (@Dolphin_Nation) September 9, 2024
Torres was placed on administrative duties following the incident.
Hill ultimately was able to take the field in Miami’s season opener and played well, totaling 130 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in a 20-17 win.
He has been less effective since then, likely due in part to the fact that the Dolphins have dealt with major injury woes at the quarterback position. Hill has just 64 receiving yards and no receiving touchdowns over the last two games.
The NFL veteran clearly has a lot on his plate right now, as he’s balancing the 2024 NFL season with his police reform efforts off the field. It became clear pretty quickly following his detainment that Hill was going to try to use the situation to make an impact.
Hill’s next chance to take the field for the Dolphins will come in Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans — a game Miami would love to win to get back on track this season. The team has had to deal with all sorts of unfortunate circumstances and is 1-2 through three games.
