Tyreek Hill charges dropped: Traffic tickets dismissed for Miami Dolphins wide receiver after officers fail to show up for court

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Two traffic tickets issued to Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill in September were dismissed after responding officers failed to show up for a hearing on Monday.

Hill was pulled over by Miami-Dade police Officer Manuel Batista for allegedly speeding in front of Hard Rock Stadium hours before the Dolphins’ regular season opener on Sept. 8 and was cited for reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt. The incident went viral when Miami-Dade police officer Danny Torres was seen dragging Hill out of his vehicle and forcibly handcuffing him.

Torres’ behavior was captured on officers’ body cameras, and he was quickly assigned to administrative duties. An internal affairs investigation was launched, but the results were not released.

Attorneys Devon Jacob, Stephen Kelly, Jeffrey Neiman and Julius Collins released a statement on Hill’s behalf after the citations were dismissed.

“As expected, the traffic tickets for Tyreek Hill were dismissed. Police officers should not press charges unless they wish to testify about this in court under oath,” the statement said. they said. “The fact that Officers Torres and Batista were not in court today is evidence that they knew they were doing wrong. These officers should be disciplined for not showing up for the hearing. Mr. Hill had the right to have his day in court and the officers did not show up for the hearing.”

“We believe Officer Torres and Officer Batista failed to appear in court so they could not be questioned under oath.”

“Where are all the internet cops now?” Hill wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. he said.

SEE ALSO: Tyreek Hill admits some regrets but calls for officer who blocked him to be fired

The Miami-Dade Police Department said it would make a statement later Tuesday.

Hill had previously admitted that he did not handle the situation as well as he should have; While Hill initially followed Batista’s orders to lower his window, he raised it back up after asking Batista to give himself a ticket and go on with his day.

Hill has said he has no ill will towards the police but called for Torres to be fired in September.

During the initial incident, Hill’s teammates Jonnu Smith and Calais Campbell arrived on the scene in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. Smith was ultimately cited; Campbell was briefly detained but released without being given a reason.

Hill has been at the center of multiple off-field incidents since joining the Dolphins in 2022, including a physical altercation with a Haulover Marina employee in June 2023 and a lawsuit earlier this year alleging he broke a social media influencer’s leg.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Hill is “a different person” than when they first met, and the 30-year-old said he believes he’s grown over the past few years.

“This happened at the right time in my life because I’ve matured, the way I handle my kids, the way I step up as a father, that’s it, man,” Hill said in September. “The older I get, the more I realize how important it is for me to be a pro’s pro. Honestly, when you first come into the league, you just want to have fun, do whatever you want. That’s what I want to do, but I’ve done it all. Now it’s like being a father, being a husband, being a son and being a son.” I see how important it is to be the family man that my grandparents raised me in.

“So (McDaniel) is talking about maturity. When my teammates see me now, I’m with my wife, I’m with my kids. I’m enjoying life, man. I’m slowing down my life. I’m doing the crazy things that I did when I first came to the league, now I do them with great honor in many ways.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.