Officer in Tyreek Hill handcuffing was suspended 6 times and had complaints of force violations, record shows

The Miami-Dade Police officer who is on administrative duty after a heated traffic stop with Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill last weekend previously had been investigated for complaints of excessive force, conduct unbecoming and body-worn camera violations, according to department records.

Officer Danny Torres, a 27-year veteran, has been suspended six times in his career and received multiple written reprimands. He’s also received many commendations for his service, according to a personnel record released by the department Friday evening.

Torres was one of several officers who responded to the traffic stop involving Hill near Hard Rock Stadium before the team’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 8. Officers initially pulled Hill over for speeding in his McLaren, and the stop quickly escalated after Hill did not follow orders to keep his window open during the stop.

Multiple officers, including Torres, forcefully removed Hill from his car, restrained him on the ground and handcuffed him. The police department released body-worn camera video of the stop Monday.

Torres, who is seeking reinstatement, was hired in October 1997. In his decades-long career, he earned more than 30 commendations for his service for safe driving, assisting other agencies, teamwork, dedication to duty and professionalism, among others, the police department record shows.

Torres was first disciplined with a written reprimand two years into his career, the report shows. In total, he was suspended six different times between 2004 and 2018, the longest being for 20 days in 2018. He was suspended for 10 days in 2019. The remaining four suspensions, between 2014 and 2016, were all for five days, the report shows.

Torres has been the subject of at least six Internal Affairs investigations between 2004 and 2018, the personnel record shows. His discipline history also includes multiple written reprimands.

In October 2014, Torres was investigated for complaints of conduct unbecoming, force violations and discourtesy. All five allegations in that complaint were sustained after the Internal Affairs investigation, the personnel record shows.

A little more than a year later, Torres was again alleged to have made a force violation, but the complaint was not sustained during the investigation. However, a discourtesy allegation was sustained.

Torres in 2018 was investigated for allegations of improper procedure, conduct unbecoming and improper body-worn camera procedure. He was found to have violated the body-worn camera procedure in that investigation, the record showed.

The personnel record does not provide additional details on the individual complaints and cases.

At least 13 use-of-force instances are also listed in Torres' report from 2002 to 2022. Further details on the individual cases were not included in the personnel report.

The report shows Torres in 2022 had received “informal counseling” for a complaint of improper body-worn camera procedure and several other written reprimands in the last nine years.

The first officer to approach Hill’s window asked Hill why he was not wearing a seatbelt, the video showed. “Don’t knock on my window like that,” Hill immediately said and handed the officer his identification. He closed his window and did not comply when the officer told him to keep it open.

“As a matter of fact, get out of the car,” the initial officer told Hill. Another officer in the background said something about him breaking “that freakin’ window” as the first officer repeatedly told Hill to get out. Hill, still inside, said he was going to comply.

An officer then flung Hill’s door open while shouting, “Get out!” and yanked Hill out of the car. That officer appeared to place his hand on the back of Hill’s neck as he pulled him outside, repeatedly shouting for him to “get out.”

“When we tell you to do something, you do it,” one officer said as they handcuffed Hill, lying on his stomach on the road. “You understand? You understand? Not what you want, but what we tell you! You’re a little f------ confused.”

The police officers who briefly detained Hill were “overzealous” during the encounter, Hill’s lawyer said Monday afternoon, while the position of the city’s police union was that Hill was “uncooperative.”

The Miami Dolphins released a statement after the body-worn camera footage was released, calling the officers’ actions “overly aggressive and violent.”

Hill said at a news conference earlier this week that he “could’ve been better” during the encounter.

“But at the end of the day I’m human. I’ve got to follow rules, I’ve got to do what everyone else would do. Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently,” he said.

Earlier this week, Torres’ attorney Ignacio Alvarez said: “We urge all parties to refrain from making public statements that may misrepresent our client’s actions and mislead the public about Mr. Hill’s detainment. We call for our client’s immediate reinstatement.”

The names of the other officers involved had not been released as of Friday night.