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The officer at Tyreek Hills Detention Center has been suspended six times and reprimanded multiple times, records show
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The officer at Tyreek Hills Detention Center has been suspended six times and reprimanded multiple times, records show

The Florida-based police officer investigating the traffic stop and detention of Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill had been suspended six times before the altercation, received multiple written reprimands and had been the subject of numerous complaints, according to his employee profile.

The Miami-Dade Police Department has released Officer Danny Torres’ employee profile, which shows he was suspended for up to 50 days between 2014 and 2019.

The first suspension was for five days in February 2014, records show. In 2016, he received three more five-day suspensions: one in February and two in September. He received a 20-day suspension in October 2018 and a 10-day suspension in June of the following year.

Records also show that Torres, a 27-year veteran, received four written reprimands between March 1999 and September 2020.

The employee profile does not provide any details about the suspensions or written reprimands. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Torres is currently on administrative duties while the internal investigation into the Sept. 8 incident involving Hill is completed. Miami-Dade County Public Safety Director James Reyes said the actions in the body camera footage released by the department were “deeply concerning” and “clearly do not meet the standard we expect from law enforcement.”

Hill has said he believes Torres should be fired.

The 30-year-old Miami Dolphins wide receiver had previously told NBC News that he believed police would likely have shot or arrested him if he were not a famous football player.

During his time with the department, Torres was involved in several complaints, many of which were resolved, but eight of the allegations are listed as “sustained” and include violations of disorderly conduct, unreasonable use of force and misuse of his body camera, according to the employee profile.

The record also lists awards Torres has received, including “skillful performance of duty,” “dedication to duty” and “teamwork.” His most recent award was in May 2023 for “professionalism,” “dedication to duty” and “special awards and recognition.”

The recordings provide a glimpse into the past of the officer who the Miami Dolphins say displayed “overly aggressive and violent behavior” toward players during an incident on Sept. 8. The incident occurred following Hill’s arrest on charges of reckless driving and failure to wear a seatbelt. Hill told NBC News he was wearing his seatbelt and was removing it when he was stopped.

Body camera footage showed an officer knocking on the window of Hill’s black 2018 McLaren and asking why he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Hill rolled down the window and told the officer, “Don’t knock on my window like that.”

At one point in the video, Hill, who was stopped near Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens before his team’s first home game, said he was late and told the officer to just give him a ticket before rolling the window back up.

As the video shows, the officer knocked on the window again and told the Dolphins wide receiver to keep the window closed. Hill responded by telling the officer not to tell him what to do.

The situation escalated and the video shows a police officer dragging Hill from his car. He was placed face down on the sidewalk and handcuffed.

Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell and tight end Jonnu Smith, who were driving by, saw Hill being held and stopped to help, Hill said.

Campbell was eventually handcuffed. He said on ESPN’s “First Take” that he tried to defuse the situation and called one of the officers “extreme.”

Ignacio Alvarez, an attorney for Torres, said the decision to place the officer on leave was “premature” and called for his “immediate reinstatement and a full, thorough and objective investigation.” Alvarez did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

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