Former South Florida Cop Has Surprising Take On Tyreek Hill Bodycam Footage

The Tyreek Hill traffic stop has gone viral and is triggering a lot of people now.

People have seen some of the body camera footage from Sunday's incident outside Hard Rock Stadium and are typically taking positions in one of two camps:

There's the Tyreek Hill is at fault for not obeying a lawful order from a cop camp.

There's the cops-are-racist and if they weren't, this wouldn't have happened camp.

And on the margins there's the media that is stoking all of this for its own benefit.

Body camera footage is out from Tyreek Hill being detained. (Credit: Screenshot/X Video https://x.com/dhookstead/status/1833284521891971561)

Heartbreaking On Multiple Levels

Well, how about a voice of reason? 

I present to you a police officer who reached out to OutKick to give his take on the episode after seeing the body camera footage. This man has 26-plus years of experience as a South Florida cop and major crimes detective out west.

He is also a Dolphins fan who was once close to the team and wants the best for his team and its players – including Tyreek Hill.

OutKick has agreed to withhold his name for job safety reasons.

Here is his overview:   

"The Hill situation breaks my heart, but not for the reasons it stirs most people.

"I am slowly seeing all the talking heads in your business beat the same drum about racial profiling…divisive garbage…but that is what sells.

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 8: Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill #10 of the Miami Dolphins addresses the media during the post-game press conference after playing the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium on September 8, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Hill was handcuffed and placed facedown on a street by police officers after he was stopped for a traffic violation near Hard Rock Stadium just hours before his team was to open the 2024 football season. The Dolphins defeated the Jaguars 20-17. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

Hill Episode About How We're Alike

"Yet if anything, this freaking situation is screaming our own shared humanity – and frustration.

"It has nothing to do with race, and it illustrates how much we are like one another rather than how much we are not. It has nothing to do with race. When will someone be brave and human enough to shine a light on it?"

How can white (Hispanic) officers getting into it with a black football player not be about race? This:

"‘Reek is frustrated he is being stopped right outside the stadium. He is obstinate to a degree.

"The cop is frustrated that Reek is not showing him the (in his mind) respect he deserves.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) speaks to the media in 2023. Miami-Dade Police investigated allegations he slapped a man on the back of the head in a dispute at Haulover Park Marina in Florida. (D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Cops Make Situation Deteriorate

"And the situation deteriorates - mostly at the hands of poorly trained, unqualified cops. There is no pause. No conflict resolution. No problem-solving other than treating the situation like a nail that needs a hammer.

"Putting him on the ground is painful. So unnecessary. Poor decision-making that is emotional. And sad."

But how does an isolated bad situation become viral and threatening to people everywhere? It becomes about race. That's where the Dolphins and the media come into play.

The Dolphins are not lowering the temperature on this being a racial issue. They're stoking the embers of racism accusations.

No One Lowers Temperature On Race

"To hear most of the media talk about it, not to mention players and even [Dolphins coach] Mike McDaniel, the bad behavior is entirely because of Hill’s race.

"Like, when can we ever get off this?  At what point was this event EVER racial?  Tyreek was human. The cops were human.

"But no one will ever call it that way, especially those with the biggest voices, because they are led by a mob that encourages lazy ass group-think.

"[I have] 26 years of law enforcement, and it is always frustrating to see these things become mangled by emotion.

"The reality is that this event presents such an opportunity to bring people together by shining a light on our shared experiences, but will almost certainly be used to strategically divide us."