The Miami police officer seen pinning NFL star Tyreek Hill down on a sidewalk had a history of aggressive interactions with civilians. One incident involved him forcefully grabbing a woman by the arm and slamming her against the hood of his police car.
Officer Danny Torres, who is currently on administrative duty following the incident with the Dolphins player in September, has faced multiple suspensions for previous physical altercations.
One civilian, Hector Montalban, who had a run-in with Torres in 2018, said he wasn’t surprised to see the officer in the spotlight again.
‘Police officers are there to protect and serve. This guy is not there for that,’ Montalban told NBC Miami in an exclusive interview.
In the recent encounter, Torres allegedly requested Montalban’s driver’s license and then issued a citation for a ‘mutilated license,’ despite Montalban insisting that the license was undamaged when he handed it over.
Torres’s history of concerning behavior includes multiple incidents involving the use of force with women as well.
In one particularly shocking incident from 2015, Torres allegedly used force on a woman – all because she muttered that officers were ‘idiots’ who wouldn’t resolve anything.
According to internal affairs records obtained by NBC Miami, Torres had been called to the scene to address a disagreement involving a family.
Danny Torres (pictured) has been suspended ‘multiple times’ in the past. One civilian, Hector Montalban, who had a run-in with Torres in 2018, said he wasn’t surprised to see the officer in the spotlight again
The officer’s pattern of behavior came to light after his encounter with Hill, where body cameras captured Torres forcibly removing the NFL star from his vehicle before a game at Hard Rock Stadium
As the family was leaving, one sister reportedly called the officers ‘idiots.’
According to a complaint obtained by the outlet, Torres ‘forcefully grabbed [the sister] by her right arm and slammed her on the hood’ of his police car.
Witnesses stated that Torres acted immediately after being insulted.
Torres and another officer claimed the sister resisted arrest when she was being detained for disorderly conduct, requiring force to secure the handcuffs.
That’s when Torres ‘forcefully grabbed (that sister) by her right arm and slammed her on the hood’ of a police car, handcuffed her and put her in the cruiser, causing visible bruising, the complaint stated. One witness said Torres acted the moment the sister called Torres ‘a f******* idiot.’
‘I don’t wake up every f******* morning to have someone call me an a*******,’ Torres reportedly told the woman’s sister during the incident, which resulted in a five-day suspension.
But that wasn’t the only time Torres’s encounters with women turned violent.
In a separate 2014 incident, he was accused of charging through a metal gate to confront a man who had merely cursed at him.
During this confrontation, Torres allegedly pushed the man’s wife and pulled a fence door so forcefully it caused her to fall, resulting in a cut finger and bruised head.
A witness backed up the couple’s account, stating that Torres even ‘chest-bumped’ the husband during the heated exchange.
Torres denied these allegations in his statement to investigators.
He admitted that he ‘got real close to each other,’ and asked the tenant, ‘What are you going to do?’
Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill is forced to the ground after being handcuffed
The wide receiver was pinned to the floor by officers ahead of the Dolphins’ season opener
The officer’s pattern of behavior came to light after his encounter with Hill, where body cameras captured Torres forcibly removing the NFL star from his vehicle before a game at Hard Rock Stadium.
The department’s own disciplinary report noted Torres’s ‘pattern of behavior indicated that you have repeatedly failed to adhere by departmental rules and procedures,’ justifying a 10-day suspension in 2019.
Records released by the department show he also had two other suspensions imposed in 2017 for incidents in 2014 and 2015.
There is even one 20-day suspension listed in 2018, with multiple written reprimands also in his file – though details of these incidents have not been released.
According to police records obtained by TMZ, Torres has received a number of complaints since joining the Miami-Dade Police Department back in 1996.
It has been claimed that he was accused of misconduct on six occasions, including force violations and improper procedures, while there have also been at least 13 investigations over him using excessive force.
There have also been some positive commendations – over two dozen – with one award for professionalism given to him in May 2023.
The Miami Dolphins star has called for Torres to be fired and believes he was too rough with him during the incident.
‘After a careful and thorough review of the multiple body cameras and concern citizens’ videos that captured the unfortunate events that transpired on Sunday, September 8, 2024, between several officers of the Miami Dade Police Department and Tyreek Hill, we are demanding for the immediate termination of the officer that has been placed on administrative leave,’ Hill said in a statement via attorney Julius B. Collins.
Shocking videos showed Hill being handcuffed and restrained on the floor after he was stopped for speeding, while one officer even appeared to strike him on the sidewalk.
As he was violently apprehended by police, several of Hill’s teammates pulled over to try to deescalate the situation, only for defensive tackle Calais Campbell to briefly be placed in handcuffs himself.
In the astonishing footage, cops could be heard telling Hill to ‘stop crying’ while the NFL star said: ‘ Take me to jail… do what you have to do.’
In one particularly shocking incident from 2015, Torres allegedly ‘forcefully grabbed’ a woman by her arm and ‘slammed her on the hood’ of his police car – all because she muttered that officers were ‘idiots’ who wouldn’t resolve anything
Police citations claimed Hill was stopped because he was believed to be driving 60mph in a 40mph zone – without wearing a seatbelt. He was fined a combined total of $308.
‘On at least two occasions, the escalating officer placed his hands on or around Mr. Hill’s neck during the traffic stop. After Mr. Hill was forcefully pulled out of his vehicle by this officer was then forcefully put face down on the pavement,’ Hill’s statement from his attorney added.
‘The officer then placed his knee in Mr. Hill’s back and his hand around the back of Mr. Hill’s neck. `
‘Once Mr. Hill was placed in handcuffs and standing on the sidewalk, after being told to sit down, Mr. Hill notified the requesting officer of his intent to do so and there again, the same officer as before grabs Mr. Hill from behind and forces him down to the ground.
‘While doing so, the officer then again placed his hand on or around Mr. Hill’s neck.
‘Even while Mr. Hill was advising the officer that he had a procedure done on his knee, the officer ignored his statement and continued his escalation in his use of force.
‘Each action that a law enforcement official take is governed by standard operation procedures. We are of the opinion that the officers’ use of force was excessive, escalating, and reckless. We are demanding that the officer be terminated effective immediately.’
