Attorney for Tyreek Hill plans to contest tickets after Miami police stopped him
Tyreek Hill, a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, plans to contest two tickets he received during a traffic stop near Hard Rock Stadium last Sunday, as indicated by records from his lawyer.
Hill has entered a not guilty plea for charges of careless driving and not wearing a seatbelt, stemming from a police interaction where he was forcibly removed from his vehicle and briefly handcuffed. The total fines for these violations amount to $308, and the careless driving charge could add three points to his driving record; in Florida, accumulating 12 points within 12 months can lead to license suspension.
“We will be taking these two citations to court,” Hill’s attorney, Adam Goodman, confirmed in an email to YSL News Sports on Thursday night.
Goodman did not provide further details on why the 30-year-old NFL player pleaded not guilty, but legal experts suggest there could be various motivations for this choice. If Hill plans to pursue legal action against the Miami-Dade Police Department, some believe that dismissing the reasons behind the traffic stop could support a potential civil case. Others suggest Hill may simply have the financial capacity to contest the tickets or genuinely feel he did nothing wrong.
“Many people would respond the same way he is,” remarked Lawrence Krieger, a law professor at Florida State University. “It doesn’t necessarily indicate anything significant.”
In his written plea, Goodman has asked Florida authorities to provide details regarding the speed measurement device used by Miami-Dade police at the time of the traffic stop. Officer Manuel Batista noted in the citations that he estimated based on sight that Hill was driving approximately 60 mph in a congested area close to Hard Rock Stadium before the Dolphins’ opening game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The speed limit in that area is 40 mph.
Though Hill wasn’t explicitly ticketed for speeding, his speed was a significant factor in the careless driving allegation. If the only evidence of his speed is the officer’s visual estimation, this could provide grounds for Hill to challenge the tickets, as suggested by Tim Jansen, a criminal defense attorney in Florida who has previously represented athletes.
“He has a solid argument for contesting the charges, and he possesses the resources to do so,” Jansen stated. “While I can’t speculate on his motivations, it’s clear that he has received sound legal advice to plead not guilty.”
Video footage from the body camera shows Hill admitting to officers that he was driving 55 mph before the stop. However, this does not prevent him from contesting the charges.
“People fight traffic tickets for two main reasons,” said Ohio attorney Danny Karon. “They believe they are innocent, or they have sufficient resources to compel the state to meet its high burden of proof.”
The situation escalated into a widely reported encounter that has sparked renewed discussions about police use of force.
Body-cam videos revealed that at least three Miami-Dade police officers forcibly removed Hill from his vehicle after he shut his window during the stop, despite orders not to do so and to exit the car. The officers took him to the ground, restrained him with handcuffs, and then made him sit on a curb for about 15 minutes. Officer Danny Torres, who has been a police officer for 27 years, is now on administrative leave as they investigate his actions during the encounter.
Hill has expressed his belief that Torres should be let go but also recognized his own shortcomings during the traffic stop, stating, “I could’ve handled it better.” He added, “Does that justify them beating me? Absolutely not. But I wish I could go back and handle things differently.”