The police officer who allegedly mishandled NFL player Tyreek Hill is reportedly being investigated for similar infractions in the past.
It is, however, not clear whether Hill’s case formed part of the investigations.
According to reports cited by some outlets, the officer had a track record of misconduct complaints leveled against him and was being investigated for 13 of such incidents at his department.
He is believed to have served some suspensions, including a 20-day suspension that was slapped on him in 2018.
Though the officer had also been commended and received awards for other good works done during his decade-long career, his encounter with Tyreek at the Hill traffic has attracted some disaffection.
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Sources say he has been placed on administrative duties while investigations into his other misconducts continued.
About the Tyreek Hill case, representatives for police officers have said the officer’s actions were justified due to Hill’s lack of cooperation at the time of the incident and have called for reinstatement of the officer.
Last month, the NFL star was stopped by police on his way to the Hard Rock Stadium to play for the Miami Dolphins in a match against the Jacksonville Jaguars. A video that emerged later showed cops had detained the player near the stadium for a traffic offense.
The footballer was seen being yelled at by the police while lying face down on the ground during the detention. Some teammates, however, managed to help the situation before Hill subsequently played for his team.
Hill called for the officer to be sanctioned, though he admitted that could have done things better during the encounter with the law enforcement officer.
“Gone. Gone. Gone. He gotta go, man…In that instance right there, not only did he treat me badly, he also treated my teammates with disrespect, you know?
“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,” the 30-year-old was quoted saying at a press conference following the incident.
