The brother of a Miami police officer facing an internal investigation for roughing up Tyreek Hill in a controversial traffic stop says the Dolphins superstar provoked the altercation by “disrespecting” officers and refusing to roll down his tinted windows.
Danny ‘Dano’ Torres, 51, was placed on administrative leave after he was caught on body camera pulling Hill, 30, out of his McLaren and throwing him to the ground outside Hard Rock Stadium.
The heavily tattooed law enforcement officer was branded a thug and impulsive after clips of the confrontation before Sunday’s game went viral.
But his supporters say Torres had every right to worry that Hill was about to pull out a gun from behind the tinted glass of his $300,000 supercar.
DailyMail.com can reveal that Torres is a 27-year police veteran, part-time DJ and motorcycle fanatic who loves wearing leather clothing and riding a Harley Davidson in his spare time.
Miami police officer Danny Torres is an excellent cop, his brother David tells DailyMail.com. He and his wife Terry, an elementary school teacher, have been married since January 2016.
Body camera footage showed NFL star Tyreek Hill being pulled from his $300,000 McLaren and handcuffed
According to his brother David Torres, he is an “excellent police officer” and Hill “only has himself to blame” for the altercation.
“The tinted windows were illegal. For the officer’s safety, he has to be able to see inside the vehicle at all times,” David insisted, speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com.
In South Florida, in particular, you never know what’s inside a vehicle or what that person is doing. Not only are they protecting themselves, but they’re also protecting all the other officers around them.
‘Miami-Dade police officers chased him on their bicycles after Hill roared past them at 10:39 a.m. to meet with his Dolphins teammates before their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A video posted to media outlets shows an officer knocking on Hill’s window and the eight-time Pro Bowler rolling it down and handing over his license.
—Don’t knock on my window like that, Hill says sarcastically.
The heavily tattooed law enforcement veteran was branded a bully and impulsive after clips of Sunday’s pregame confrontation went viral, but Hill has since admitted he should have reacted differently.
Torres has worked in law enforcement for 27 years, is a part-time DJ, and a motorcycle enthusiast who loves to wear leather gear and ride a Harley Davidson in his spare time.
‘Give me my ticket, brother, so I can go. I’m going to be late. Do what you have to do.’
The encounter quickly turns ugly when Hill rolls up his window again and ignores multiple requests to roll it down.
“I’m going to get you out of the car. In fact, get out of the car,” the agent tells the $20 million-a-year star.
Then Torres appears on the scene, the burly policeman angrily warns Hill: “Get out of the car or I’ll break that damn window.”
He throws open the McLaren’s butterfly-style revolving door and grabs the famous receiver before throwing him face-first to the ground and placing a knee in the middle of his back.
Hill is then handcuffed and led to the sidewalk, where Torres again grabs him from behind and pushes him into a sitting position.
When the Super Bowl winner warns officers that he recently had knee surgery and begs them to “calm down,” they lecture him for ignoring their commands and tell him to “stop crying.”
Hill was eventually released after receiving citations and fines totaling $309 for not wearing a seat belt and careless driving.
Torres is a military veteran and a member of the Peacemaker chapter of the Gunfighters Motorcycle Club.
“Officers have every right to protect themselves. And that’s exactly what happened. They were protecting themselves,” David said of the incident involving his brother and Hill.
Paperwork completed by Officer M. Batista estimates he was going 60 miles per hour in a 40 mile per hour zone, but mentions nothing about the tinted windows on the 2018 McLaren 729S. Hill told media afterward that he was “shocked” by the incident and feared he would have been shot if he had not been a famous NFL star.
But Torres’ brother says his brother treated the VIP athlete like any other motorist because he doesn’t follow football and had no idea who he was dealing with.
He believes the traffic stop would have gone differently if Hill had followed simple instructions.
“Nobody really wants to admit that Tyreek disrespected police officers,” David, 47, told DailyMail.com.
‘If you look at the video, he didn’t follow instructions from the beginning. He was yelling at the officer and telling him not to hit his window.
“If you know anything about dealing with police officers, you know not to roll up your window.”
“Officers have every right to protect themselves. And that’s exactly what happened. They were protecting themselves.”
Torres is a military veteran and a member of the Peacemaker chapter of the Gunfighters Motorcycle Club.
Photos posted on social media show the Florida police officer sitting astride a Harley Davidson, with his wife Terry, an elementary school teacher, sitting behind him. The couple married in January 2016.
Four years later, Torres fell off his bike in an off-duty accident and was left fighting for his life, inspiring his fellow officers to launch a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his medical expenses.
Torres recovered and was able to return to work, earning about $171,000 last year, including overtime, according to county records.
He also works as a ‘dj_dno’, spinning the latest EDM tracks from Steve Aoki and David Guetta to satisfy “all your music and entertainment needs,” according to his Instagram profile.
Danny’s brother, David Torres, supports the officer, telling DailyMail that he is an “excellent cop” and that Tyreek “only has himself to blame for the dispute.”
Miami-Dade Police Chief Stephanie Daniels placed Torres on administrative duty after she viewed the body camera footage he made public to demonstrate his department’s “commitment to transparency.”
Torres’ lawyers say he should be reinstated immediately, a verdict David agrees with.
“My brother is a very charismatic guy, he is very friendly. Wherever he goes, people like him,” added David.
‘He has a strong character, but that’s what it takes to be a South Florida police officer for so long.
“He’s a simple, black and white person. I don’t mean anything racial by that, I mean he does things by the book.
“I think he’s an excellent police officer. I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be reinstated.”
‘Hill, nicknamed Cheetah because of his blazing speed, finished the 2023 season with an NFL-leading 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns before Miami lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wild Card Game.
The Dolphins wide receiver was pinned to the ground and handcuffed on Sunday’s opening day of the NFL season.
But it was also a turbulent year off the field, as he suffered a massive house fire, became embroiled in paternity suits with multiple women and filed for divorce from wellness influencer Keeta Vaccaro, 28, just months after marrying her.
Hill withdrew the petition a few days later, claiming her lawyers had filed it without her knowledge. The couple is expecting their first child.
Hill is also being sued by Sophie Hall, a plus-size influencer, who says he attacked her and broke her leg during a practice drill at his mansion in Southwest Ranches.
Hill says the OnlyFans model tripped over a dog.
