MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has a new star legal team weeks after the traffic stop that sent him cuffed and to the ground.
Attorney Devon Jacob knows high-profile cases. He helped represent the family of George Floyd, who was killed by police.
“It is for law enforcement to explain what is going on,” said Jacob.
Jacob said he won’t get into specifics about how he and Hill connected, but had something to say about the body cam video of the incident.
“I’m a former police officer. I defended law enforcement for 10 years,” he said. “It’s really quite frightening when your most out of control person on scene is your law enforcement.”
Miami-Dade police Officer Daniel Torres, a 27-year veteran of the department, was placed on administrative duty following the incident with Hill.
Torres’ employee profile shows numerous commendations, but also use of force allegations. He has been suspended six times.
“In what profession can you be suspended six times and not fired?” asked Jacob.
Stedman Stahl, the head of the Miami-Dade police union, had an answer to that question.
“The NFL,” Stahl said. “The NFL is one of them where you can get suspended from that kind of stuff.”
Stahl continued: “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.”
Jacob pointed out how different Hill’s situation was than a non-celebrity who may have been pulled over.
“Here, the Dolphins were able to reach out, intervene, get Tyreek released,” said Jacob. “But that doesn’t happen for the average citizen.”