Travis Kriens – KORN News Radio
Miami Dolphins All-Pro WR Tyreek Hill was handcuffed while on his way to the season opener vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. You can view the police cam footage HERE.
It’s a full circle moment for the NFL. Eight years after San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games to protest systemic racism and police violence against Black Americans, here we are again. Police using excessive force and going way over the line and putting a black man in cuffs on the ground on the side of the road for a minimal offense.
You may not agree or like what Kaepernick, but people focused more on his act of kneeling during the anthem instead of looking at why he was kneeling in the first place.
Without the body cam footage, it becomes a “he said she said,” situation. Since we have it, it’s apparent that Miami police were a bit too aggressive in their handling of Hill and had no idea who he was.
My question is why are the police so aggressive in what appears to be a routine traffic stop?
A common theme in a lot of body cam footage is the driver not listening or following to what police want them to do. In this case, Hill rolls down his window, then rolls it back up. That escalated the situation where police forcefully pulled Hill from his vehicle after not following instructions.
The same thing happens later in the video when an acquaintance of Hill refuses to move his vehicle from the side of the road and show his license to police. It takes a while, but the lack of compliance is what seems to escalate the situation. It takes the driver too long to comply to police orders.
I can understand as much as a I can the fear of a black male or female when they are pulled over by police. They know that the situation can get violent very quickly with not much patience by police.
Eight years after Colin Kaepernick went to a knee, not much has changed when it comes to police brutality, whether you are a star football player or not.