Tyreek Hill: Traffic citations dropped on Miami Dolphins wide receiver

CNN
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Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is no longer facing traffic citations from a controversial traffic stop in September after one of the Miami-Dade police officers who pulled him over failed to appear in court.

A Miami-Dade judge dismissed both citations for “failure to prosecute” because Officer Manuel Batista failed to appear, court records showed Monday.

The dismissal of the charges comes less than three months after the traffic stop showed officers pulled Hill from his car, handcuffed him and placed him face down in the road after he did not immediately comply with their commands.

Other Miami Dolphins players who had stopped to offer assistance to Hill were also treated aggressively.

Bystanders and police body-worn cameras captured the incident on September 8.

Hill was issued two citations stemming from the stop outside the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. He had previously pleaded not guilty to careless driving and not wearing a seat belt.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, the 30-year-old submitted a link to an article about his dismissal in which he wrote, “Where are all the internet cops now?”

Danny Torres, another Miami-Dade officer involved in the stop, was placed on administrative leave just days after the incident, CNN previously reported.

“Officer Torres and Batista’s absence from court today proves their knowledge of wrongdoing,” Hill’s attorney Julius Collins wrote in a statement to CNN. “It is our belief that Officer Torres and Officer Batista failed to appear in court so that they could not be questioned under oath.”

Miami-Dade Police said it was an “oversight” as the reason the officer didn’t show up for the hearing.

“The Miami-Dade Police Department is aware that a docket of citations issued to several individuals, including the non-criminal citations issued to Mr. Tyreek Hill has been dismissed because the officer did not attend the hearing,” police said in a statement.

“A citation that is dismissed for this reason does not indicate that the citation was not warranted. An internal review of why the officer did not appear in court has revealed an oversight on his behalf. This matter will be handled administratively.”

CNN has reached out to Hill’s agent and the Dolphins for comment.