Miami Dolphins’ star wide receiver has hired the prominent civil rights attorney who represented George Floyd’s family after being detained while on the way to the team’s season opener earlier this month.
Tyreek Hill has retained the services of national civil rights attorney Devon Jacob, who had previously helped represent the family of George Floyd after he was killed by Minneapolis police in 2020, Local 10 reported.
Jacob, who previously worked as a 911 operator, firefighter, police officer, and the former deputy attorney general for Pennsylvania, said Hills’ situation highlights a current issue with law enforcement.
“I’m a former police officer. I defended law enforcement for 10 years,” Jacob told Local 10. “It’s really quite frightening when your most out of control person on scene is your law enforcement.”
The lawman-turned-lawyer believes that the detainment on Sept. 8. could’ve taken a different turn if Hill had not been a notable NFL player.
“Here, the Dolphins were able to reach out, intervene, get Tyreek released,” Jacob told the outlet. “But that doesn’t happen for the average citizen.”
The Pennsylvania-based lawyer will work alongside Hills’ current Attorney, Julius B. Collins, and Jeffrey A. Neiman, Stephen B. Kelly Jr., as the NFL pro-bowler pushes for change in police departments nationwide, according to USA Today Sports.
“Tyreek intends to continue the national movement for necessary police reform that George Floyd’s death started,” Jacob told the outlet Monday.
“Tyreek is demanding that Congress finally pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.”
Collins added that his client intends to “speak for all people in a broad fight against national police misconduct.”
“Hill is adamant that his legal team will ensure that the voices of people who have long been ignored or silenced on the issue of police reform will finally be heard,” Collins shared.
Hill received two citations for careless driving on his way to Hard Rock Stadium and a seatbelt violation due to his traffic stop.
It was reported that the Super Bowl-winning wideout was traveling at 60 mph when he was pulled over.
In bodycam footage, an officer knocked on the driver’s side window of Hill’s black McLaren 720s coupe, telling him to put his window down before pulling him from the sports car and placing him in cuffs.
One of the responding officers, identified as Danny Torres, was placed on administrative leave, and the Miami-Dade Police Department opened an internal investigation into the matter.
Torres, who Hill accused of using “excessive” force, was suspended six times previously in his 27-year career, according to reports.
“In what profession can you be suspended six times and not fired?”Jacob asked Local 10.
The head of the Miami-Dade police union, Stedman Stahl, responded to the lawyer’s question, “The NFL is one of them where you can get suspended from that kind of stuff.”
“I think it could have been handled differently from both parties. We’ll take from this and we learn from it. Did he have to be put in handcuffs out of the car? That was the officers’ discretion,” Stahl said.
Torres’ six suspensions varied in length from five to 20 days.
