MIAMI – Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is calling for the firing of a Miami-Dade police officer following a now-viral incident Sunday in which Hill was dragged from his vehicle during a traffic stop.

Hill’s attorney Julius Collins released a statement on Hill’s behalf Tuesday evening calling for the “immediate termination” of the “escalating officer,” who was placed on leave as a result of Sunday’s incident.

“Every action by a police officer is subject to standard procedures,” the statement said. “We believe the officer’s use of force was excessive, escalating and reckless. We demand the officer’s immediate termination.”

The officer, since identified as 27-year-old veteran Danny Torres, was one of several officers present when Hill was pulled over for speeding about three hours before the Dolphins’ season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The police union that works with Miami-Dade police released a statement Monday afternoon saying Hill was “uncooperative” with officers, leading to an escalation of the situation.

Body camera footage released Monday night showed Hill being asked to exit his vehicle after a brief verbal altercation with the officer who pulled him over, but Torres eventually forcibly dragged him from his car and “redirected” him, causing him to fall to the ground.

Torres then handcuffed Hill while kneeling on his back and forced him to the ground again after Hill was instructed to sit on the pavement about a minute later. In their testimony, Hill and Collins say Hill told officers he had recently undergone knee surgery, but Torres “ignored his statement and continued his use of force.”

“The events of Sunday, September 8, 2024, are just a reminder of the reality of the many injustices that people from Black and minority communities face at the hands of law enforcement,” the statement said. “We in no way accuse the officer of being racist, but we do historically accuse law enforcement customs and practices of being discriminatory and oppressive toward Black and minority communities. We cannot ignore this fact and remain silent on this issue just because it is a difficult conversation to have.”

Dolphins players Jonnu Smith and Calais Campbell arrived at the scene shortly after Hill’s arrest. Smith was issued a citation, while Campbell, a former winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, was briefly arrested for failure to comply with orders.

Attorneys Ignacio Alvarez of the ALGO law firm and Israel Reyes of The Reyes law firm, who represent Torres, called for their client’s “immediate reinstatement” in a statement Monday. They called the decision to place their client on leave “premature” but “fully support” Miami-Dade Police Department Director Stephanie Daniels’ call for a thorough review.

Neither Alvarez nor Reyes responded when asked whether they wrote their statements before or after the bodycam footage of the incident was released on Monday.

“We urge all parties to refrain from making any public statements that could misrepresent our client’s actions and mislead the public about Mr. Hill’s incarceration,” Alvarez said in the statement.

In their statement, they said Torres would not comment until the investigation into the matter is complete. Alvarez and Reyes did not immediately respond to questions about whether Torres had been subject to any prior disciplinary action, incidents or investigations.

During an appearance on Monday on the “Dan Le Batard Show,” Hill’s agent Drew Rosenhaus expressed his disgust at the officials’ treatment of his client.

“I personally believe the officers who did this to Tyreek should not be in that position — they should be fired,” Rosenhaus said. “Look at the guy who kicked him — that guy should be fired. This is out of control. The guy who jumped him and put him in a chokehold? There’s no reason for a police officer to have a badge that performs those functions when Tyreek was not aggressive, violent or fighting back in any way.”

“It was horrific how they treated him. They didn’t treat him like a human being.”

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Tuesday that Hill has brought together a group of teammates to discuss how to turn the experience into something positive for the community, but their ideas likely won’t be implemented until after the team’s game Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills.

Veteran left tackle Terron Armstead, the Dolphins’ captain alongside Hill and Tagovailoa, said the team will be ready for Thursday’s game despite the short week and possible distractions.

“I think that’s the beauty of this sport,” he said. “You get a chance to escape the problems of the real world for that slot of time. I think there’s no better place in the world that Tyreek could have pursued that than a locker room and a football game. That’s the beauty of this sport, you get that time to escape and go into a world that is kind of a fantasy for us.”