With legal team in place, Dolphins' Tyreek Hill continues to demand firing of MDPD officer Danny Torres
MIAMI - Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill continues to demand the firing of Miami-Dade police officer Danny Torres following a traffic stop that garnered national attention two weeks ago.
At the time, Hill made it clear he wanted Torres fired. "He gotta go, man," Hill said during a news conference.
Hill made the statement after being yanked from his car and cuffed on the ground. Now, his legal team is in place.
"Officer Torres has been suspended six times," said one of Hill's attorneys, Jeffrey Neiman from Fort Lauderdale. "Is there another job on planet Earth with that track record that you would still have if you were an ordinary American? No," he continued.
"The only reason he has the job still is because he's a police officer hiding behind this qualified immunity," Neiman said.
According to the FBI, qualified immunity protects "law enforcement officers, from individual liability unless the official violated a clearly established constitutional right."
"I will match his record up against Mr. Hill's record any day of the week," said Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida PBA, the police union.
"There has to be certain protections out there for officers so that there's not a jump to conclusion. But there's also a mechanism in place through investigative panels and different internal affairs and different agencies that can investigate complaints like that," Stahl said.
Hill's team is hoping to reignite the conversation about police reform — including a renewed push to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Devon M. Jacob was on the team representing the Floyd family and now is on Hill's team.
"Probably the biggest two issues are the fact that we do away with qualified immunity for police officers," Jacob said. "In addition, it would direct the DOJ to set national standards by which police can be held accountable."
CBS News Miami reached out to Torres' attorney, but have not heard back. Previously, he said he did not plan to comment until the investigation is complete.
