The brother of a Miami-Dade police officer involved in the arrest of Tyreek Hill calls his brother an “excellent police officer” and blames the NFL star for the chaotic situations that unfolded Sunday before the Dolphins’ season-opening game at Hard Rock Stadium.
David Torres, the brother of Danny “Dano” Torres, defended his brother to the Daily Mail. Torres was the police officer seen on body camera pulling Hill from his car after he refused to comply with orders to roll down the window.
The official has been placed on administrative duty while an internal investigation is conducted.
But David Torres told the outlet that the situation would not have happened if Hill had given in.
He also said Hill treated officers “disrespectfully” during the encounter.
“If you watch the video, you’ll see that he didn’t follow instructions from the beginning. He was yelling at the officer and telling him not to knock on his window,” said David Torres. “If you know anything about dealing with police officers, you know you can’t roll up your window on them. The officers have every right to protect themselves. And that’s exactly what happened.”
“They took care of their own safety.”
Hill admitted this week that he “could have behaved better” during the altercation, but insisted that did not give officers the right to “literally beat the crap out of me.”
“At the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a little differently,” Hill said during a press conference.
Bodycam footage shows the Dolphins receiver refusing to roll down his window after apparently giving the officer his driver’s license.
When he was asked to exit the vehicle and did not comply with the officers’ request quickly enough, Torres opened the car door, pulled Hill out of the vehicle, and placed the phone face down on the ground.
Torres was later heard scolding Hill when he tried to explain to the officer that he had just had knee surgery.
“Were you having ear surgery when we told you to roll down the window?” the officer yelled at Hill.
David Torres described his brother – a 27-year veteran of the MDPD – as “charismatic” and “very personable.”
“He has a strong character, but that’s what it takes to be a police officer in South Florida for so long,” he explained. “He’s just a straight-laced, black-and-white person. I don’t mean anything racist by that, I mean he follows the rules. I think he’s an excellent police officer. I see no reason why he shouldn’t be rehired.”
David Torres also said that the tinted windows on Hill’s car were illegal.
However, none of the tickets issued against Hill were for tinting his windows.
Tinted windows are legal in the state of Florida, but there are restrictions.
Danny Torres’ lawyers had previously stated that he should be reinstated.