Tyreek Hill episode should worry all Americans!

United States of America is supposed to be ‘land of the free’!

So, when a traffic cop stops Miami Dolphin’s Tyreek Hill on Sunday and asked him about not wearing his seat belt, I didn’t hear the usual respectful language the American cops are known for. And as the Miami Dolphin said in the statement they released after the episode; the cops forgot their responsibility and role, which is to serve. There was nothing wrong with taking his licence and issuing him with a ticket. Commanding him to roll down his window or step out of the car has little to do with the traffic offence he was stopped for. He had handed his licence over. Now, if the cops deemed him to be uncooperative, take his details down, pass it to the DA and sue him for that and fine him.

Instead, they dragged him out of his car, manhandled him, slapped him on the tarmac, pushed him about etc. This is the guy who pays their salaries (along with other tax paying folk of Miami). Some respectability needs to come back into policing. The cops need to think about what these videos look like, to the rest of the world and how it impacts how people see America. They (American cops) need to put America first. Not so hard to show respect to the civilians they are there to protect. Now, if Tyreek had been abusive or refused to stop his car, that’s understandable but he didn’t. Commanding him to leave his window open (why? the cop already had his licence) was not a necessary step.

But to be honest, Tyreek was playing with fire. He could have been shot. So, in fact, those policemen perhaps should also be commended for not doing what many have now come to expect in America i.e. whipping out their guns!

But in truth, what kind of life are Americans living? When they have to be terrified of their own police force? The police are supposed to be protecting them. And when stopped for such a flimsy, minor, non-violent act such as speeding or not wearing a seat belt, for goodness sake, it should have been a very friendly 2min chat, ticket and good bye (with the usual “have a nice day sir”). To get into the “you shall do as we tell you” mode, is a truly worrying scenario. The police are there to serve and protect. We are very lucky here in the UK that a vast majority of encounters with police here, are very respectful and certainly, for such a flimsy situation such as a traffic stop, it is highly unlikely to lead to this needless fiasco that Tyreek got dragged into