hey folks welcome to today's episode of the law of self-defense I am of course attorney Andrew branka for the law of self-defense and we're here today to talk about this weekend Shenanigans with NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his traffic stop and how that went sideways so let's settle in we got quite a bit of video clips to look at and of course our general legal analysis Insight education it should be a great deal of fun so what are we dealing with here a driver speeds down a busy road and he's pulled over by police pretty common event as police walk up to his vehicle the driver's window which had been open the driver closes that window as the police walk up and rather than simply complying with a routine traffic stop for speeding and being on his way in minutes this driver decides to present a threatening demeanor to the officers he commits an additional misdemeanor crime punishable by up to a year in prison in the course of the traffic stop and unsurprisingly finds himself removed from his vehicle and lawfully detained on the side of the road and whose fault is all this apparently the real issue is not the driver who made all these choices and his criminal and threatening conduct but rather the entirely lawful conduct of the officers involved nope I'm not kidding the internet consensus is that the cops were the bad guys here so let's discuss this now before we jump into things I do want to thank our sponsor CCW safe a provider of legal service memberships so many people mistakenly call self-defense Insurance in effect CCW safe promises to pay its members legal expenses if the members is involved in the use of force event and they do much much more than that as well now there are a number of companies out there that are offer similar Services some of them are worth considering they're different flavors for different needs some of them are hot garbage I could never recommend under any circumstances CCW safe is the one I trust I'm personally a member of CCW safe my wife Emily is personally a member I believe in them and I trust them to do what they say they're going to do when they say they'll back up their members if you'd like to learn why I trust CCW safe you can point in your browser to law of self-defense. comtrust I have a very short video there where I explain a more detail why they are my choice and at that same URL law of self- defense.com trust you can find a 10% discount code for your own membership at CCW safe when you become a member and join me there again that's at lawof selfdefense decom trust all right so by now you've probably heard about the roadside Detention of NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill who was pulled over for speeding as he drove his sports card to a game in which he would eventually play and score a touchdown for his Miami Dolphins team not that it should matter but this is the world in which we live Tyreek Hill happens to be a young black male and an adult of course and the officers involved at least early in the stop appear to have been Hispanic the many video perspectives of this encounter have led to the now usual outcry against the police police officers involved an outcry that's really simply insane on its face one person in this encounter engaged in unlawful and criminal activity and that was Tyreek Hill repeatedly the officers acted entirely within their lawful Authority violating no laws yet the internet consensus is supposed to be that it was the officers who were the bad guys and Tyreek Hill was an innocent victim of their misconduct now although I've reviewed all the available video of this encounter and I will put the full length of the uh body warn camera in the description for those of you who'd like to see the whole 20 25 minute long body warn camera video I'm going to focus here on the just under three minutes of that video that captures the essential details for us to have a legal understanding of what went down here and I'll highlight portions of the video in a bit but first let's do a run through from beginning to end of this roughly 3 minute clip so this roughly 3 minute clip starts with a motorcycle officer stopping Hill on the side of the road with the officer communicating to Hill through Hills open driver side window that he's been stopped for speeding and that video concludes 2 minutes and roughly 45 seconds later with Hill detained in handcuffs and seated on the curb so with that overview let's go ahead and watch this video clip and I'll shrink myself down for this purpose here we go [Music] speeding move [Music] forward yeah we got it here notice the windows open here I put a couple freeze frames in now the window's closing now the window's fully closed knock on the window KN why don't you have your seat Bel on don't knock on my window why don't you have your seat Bel on knock on my window like that though like what don't knock on my window like that why you have it up don't knock on my window like that why you have it up I have to knock to let you know I'm here kn lower talk to you just get my ticket bro so I can go I'm going to be late G do what you got to do keep it down hey keep your window down hey keep your window down keep your window down I'm going to get you out of the car as a matter of fact get out of the car me get out of the car give me I'm break that get out of the car get out of the car right now we're not playing this game get out get out get out get out get out damn what brother this hey hey I'm getting arrested D I'm getting arrested I'm getting arrested Drew I'm getting up God damn we tell you to do something you do it you understand you understand not what you want but what we tell you you're [ __ ] confused I'm getting out to late too late all right do what you got to do we are we will good good bro it is good hey hey don't worry about I up the phone stop crying br on my window like I a do nothing [Music] t i surgery on my KNE I my okay so that's the full length of the video that I want to share with all of you today and now we'll step through it bit by bit so before we break the video down let's consider some of the legal realities applicable to this encounter really applicable to any traffic stop encounter first the police have the legal authority to pull over drivers for traffic violations does that even need to be said a traffic violation like for example for driving 60 M hour in a 45 m per hour Zone which is the citation for which Tyreek kill was written up no the citation is not for 100 plus miles per hour there are lots of reports of that kind of speed but he was actually cited for 60 and what I believe was a a 45 zone now that's still 30% above the posted speed limit and nobody driving 60 and a 45 should be surprised if they get pulled over for a speeding ticket second the police have the legal Authority during a traffic stop to give reasonable commands intended to ensure safety and to compel compliance with those demands for example that a driver not obscure observations of his hands during a traffic stop that's an obvious safety risk third failure to comply with lawful orders privileges the officers involved to use such physical Force as reasonably necessary to compel compliance with the lawful orders for example to remove the driver from the vehicle to detain and secure a driver in a manner consistent with the safety of the driver and the officers involved police are allowed to do that fourth failure to comply with lawful orders from officers is an independent crime under Florida law statute section 843.svg without violence it's an arrestable misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year in jail now with all those legal realities on the table let's break down the video in detail so we'll start at the beginning the first clip we'll see we'll see the motorcycle officer begin to pull Hill over and in response to Hill's inquiry apparently he'll inform Hill that the reason for the stop is that hill was speeding and again he'll eventually be cited for doing 60 in a 40 5 note that during this exchange the vehicles are still in motion the car is moving the motorcycles moving the car windows open and the Motorcycle officer and Hill are having this exchange so let's take a look at that just that first clip now speed move forward [Music] okay so we have the Stop and so far the only person to have committed an unlawful Act is Tyreek Hill the speeding indeed the officer was under no obligation to inform Hill of the reason for the stop when he tells Hill you're speeding at this point because at this point in the encounter the vehicles are Still In Motion he's required to pull over regardless of whether he's given a reason beforehand that's his legal obligation but the officer chooses to inform Hill anyway even while they're still rolling that the reason for the Stop is speeding second the motorcycle officer gets off his bike for some reason off to the right hand side I guess that's a motorcycle cop thing and approaches Hills driver side window now the next obvious step is that the officer would ask Hill for his license and other related documentation such as registration and insurance and note that Tyreek Hill is legally obligated to present these documents to the officer it's not an option and despite this obvious next step of presenting these documents and the legal obligation to do so as the officer approaches Hill's vehicle what does Hill do he takes the window beside him that was just open and he raises and closes that driver side window as the officer approaches now in this next clip I've inserted Freeze Frame so we can see the progress of the window first open then partially closed then fully closed so with that said let's jump into the second video clip in this second clip the motorcycle officer gets off his bike and approaches Hill driver side window the window that was just open a moment before when they had US exchange about the reason for the stop the next obvious step in this interaction is that the officer would ask Hill to present his license and other related documentation such as his registration and insurance and I would note that Hill is legally obligated to present these documents to the officer it's non-optional when you're pulled over operating a motor vehicle in a public way despite this obvious next step and the legal obligation to present these documents as the officer approaches Hill's vehicle hill raises and closes his driver's side window now in this clip I've added some freeze frames so we can better see the progress of the window from open to closed as the officer walks up we got it here you can see there the window's still open officer gets off the bike oddly on the right hand side that must be a police thing as he's walking up you can see the windows halfway up now and now the window is completely closed just in time for the officer to get there this uncooperative closing of the window might well have been a clue to a reasonable officer to anticipate possible non-compliance from this driver in the third clip we hear the officer knock rather gently on the driver's side window in response to which the officer receives a rather hostile response from hill hill says don't knock on my window like that and he repeats it seven full times well this is certainly not a crime on the part of Hill if he wants to speak repetitively I guess he can and while Hill's under no obligation to answer any questions from the office officer it might be another clue suggesting that Tyreek Hill May intend to be affirmatively hostile and non-compliant during this traffic stop so let's take a look at our third clip pay particular attention to the manner in which the officer knocks on the window Tyreek Hill is going to try to suggest that the officer seemed to be about to smash the window in this was a pretty polite knock knock on my window like that don't knock why don't you have your seat Bel on don't knock on my window why don't you have your seat Bel on knock on my window like that though like what don't knock on my window like why you have it up don't knock on my window like that why you have it up I have to knock to let you know I'm here that way you can lower and talk to you get my ticket bro so I can go all right I'm going to start it at the beginning just the first couple seconds immediately you'll hear the knock tell me if this knock is sounds studio is particularly hostile or aggressive what I hear is tap tap don't knock on my window like that don't knock on my window like that don't knock on my window like that just repeat that seven times now immediately after this exchange while the officer is still standing beside the window and he'll he's he now once again raises and closes the window so he had opened it up a crack to talk to the officer now he's closing it again again the officer gives Hill the lawful order to keep the window down now why is this closing of the window relevant why does the officer care because the heavily tinted glass prevents the officer from observing Hill's hands inside the vehicle it's no different than if Hill were otherwise holding his hands out of sight the officers legally authorized for purposes of safety to order the driver to keep his hands visible and open to observation and the drivers legally required to comply with that lawful order importantly merely cracking the window open slightly fails to satisfy the safety necessity of allowing ready observation of the interior of this vehicle now if the window were not heavily tinted and ready observation of the interior of the vehicle were possible even with the window closed or slightly cracked this would obviously be much less of a safety concern but in this case the window was heavily tinted you couldn't really see through the glass into the interior of the vehicle with the window obstructing that view hence the safety concern now in this instance the officer is legally authorized for purposes of safety to order Hill to keep his window his heavily tinted window down during the stop so the officer can observe his hands and Hill is legally required to comply with that lawful order it's not optional instead Hill refuses to comply with the order to open the window to lower the window despite the order being repeated several times and the officer knocking again on the window and what I would characterize as a perfectly reasonable knock with Hill ultimately only slightly opening the window and as we've said thus still falling short of allowing ready observation of the the interior of the vehicle now this refusal on the part of Hill is a criminal offense independent of his speeding and as it happens also a seat belt traffic infraction Florida law refers to this kind of non-compliance with lawful orders as resisting an officer without violence and it is a crime under Florida law it is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year in jail under statute 843.svg of legal process or in the lawful execution of any legal Duty without offering or doing violence to the person of the officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and a first degree misdemeanor under Florida law is typically punishable by up to a year in jail so Hill's just gotten himself another offense this time a criminal misdemeanor offense if the police want to charge him with that ultimately they don't but that's clearly What's Happening Here a violation of 843.svg officers lawful orders given for the purpose of ensuring safety to it to allow ready observation of the interior of the vehicle in the course of a lawful traffic stop and note that during this exchange at one point Hill tells the officer don't tell me what to do at the very end there of course the officer can't simply give Hill any order he likes he can't tell Hill I order you to give me an autograph for example that would not be a lawful order consistent with the officer carrying at his lawful duties but the officer is explicitly authorized by law to give Hill lawful orders that are consistent with the officer carrying out his duties and Hill is legally obliged to comply with those lawful orders it's not optional that don't tell me what to do in response to exactly such a lawful order to lower the window is yet another indication to the officer that Hill intends to be noncompliant here's the next segment of the video clip do what you got to do keep it down hey keep your window down hey keep your window down keep your window down I'm going to get you out of the car don't tell me what to do in fact the officer can lawfully tell Hill what to do if it's a lawful order consistent with the officer carrying out his duties and Hill is legally obliged to comply with that order it is non-optional so at this point the officer's just threatened to take him out of the car but the officer decides he's had enough and he just says get out of the car he's pulling him out due to his non-compliance uh and given Hill's continued non-compliance with lawful order violation of the misdemeanor offense of resisting an officer under statute 843.svg throughout the traffic stop so far now the order to get out of the car being a lawful order it is the legal obligation of Hill to comply with that lawful order it is non-optional and it is within the authority of the officers to use reasonable and necessary Force to compel such compliance now had it been necessary to compel compliance with this order that the officers had to break the car window they would have been legally privileged to break the car window to gain access to Hill and one officer you can hear them in the background does threaten to do exactly that if Hill refuses to comply with the order to exit the vehicle as it happens breaking the glass proves unnecessary though if it had been necessary it would have been lawful and so the window's not in fact broken uh but again Hill remains non-compliant with the lawful order to exit the vehicle despite the officer repeating the order multiple times finally the officers managed to open the door and they forcibly removed Hill from the vehicle again this is a lawful use of force by these officers to compel Hill's compliance with their lawful order to exit the vehicle at that point they put Hill into a prone handcuffing position on the ground and handcuff him at this point Hill has been lawfully detained not arrested as Hill mistakenly calls into his phone uh but lawfully detained and handcuffing during a lawful detention is not only permissible but arguably required in order to ensure safety for all involved especially when the person being detained has consistently indicated their intention to be non-compliant in the course of an otherwise routine traffic stop at one point one of the officers tells hell when we tell you to do something you do it in the context of the lawful orders these officers have been giving to Hill this is simply a correct statement of the law also now when compliance is being compelled Hill protests that he was about to comply and the officer informs Hill that it's too late for voluntary compliance this is also a correct statement of the law when a lawful order is given the recipient is legally obliged to comply with that order immediately not merely at a time of their own choosing and convenience let's watch the next video clip as a matter of get out of the car get out of the car break window get out of the car get out of the car right now we're not playing this game get out get out get out get out get out damn what part of brother hey hey I'm getting arrested D I'm getting arrested I'm getting arrested Drew I'm getting up God D when we tell you to do something you do it you understand you understand not what you want but when we tell you you're [ __ ] confused I'm out too late too late so Hill's then lifted up under his arms he's walked over to the sidewalk and he he's asked to sit on the curb now the reason he's asked to sit on the curb is again for purposes of safety persons detained sometimes try to flee which can endanger both themselves and the officers especially when everyone's close to vehicular traffic like here sometimes people run into the road get hit by a car a detained person is now the their safety is the responsibility of the officers detaining them so it's very common to put a detained person in a seated position on the curb to make them you know less able to engage in that kind of dangerous flight and yet again of course Tyreek Hill refuses to comply with the lawful order to sit on the curb so the officers are again obliged to resort to reasonable and necessary Force to compel compliance and sit him on the curb now kind of laughably at this point Hill suddenly decides that he's unable to take a seated position because he says I've just had surgery on my knee the fact that he was moments ago in a seated position in his sports car and that he would leave this traffic stop to play as a wide receiver in an NFL game and score a touchdown in the course of that game would suggest that these cries about a debilitating knee condition that could be aggravated simply by sitting down were simply nothing more than a fabrication let's watch the last of the little video clips all right take ja do what you got to do we are we will good good bro it is goody hey don't worry about i h up the point stop crying stop crying I do nothing he smacked in my window like he's crazy did he though did [Music] he he's resisting the sitting there I surg my so he just had surgery on his knee he can't sit down but they're gonna compel him to sit down and then after this he's gonna play in an NFL game and score a touchdown okay okay so at this point in the interaction and this is really where all the the action takes place uh what do we have what do we have here what conclusions can we draw legally and otherwise now before we jump into that I do want to remind everybody don't forget that you can always pick up no not always but for the time being you can pick up a free copy of our bestselling book The Law of self-defense principles it's your handbook to being hard to convict if you're ever compelled to use force in defense of yourself your family or your property check it out on Amazon it's star rated bestseller in its category but don't buy it on Amazon they'll charge you for the book I think it's 20 or 25 bucks plus shipping and handling we only ask you to cover the cost of shipping the book to you the cost of the book itself from us is free and you can get your free copy of the law of selfdefense principles at lawof self-defense. freebook simple enough lawof self-defense. free book all right so where are we at here on the part of Hill in terms of his conduct we have a claimed speeding violation a claimed seat belt violation and an unclaimed uncharged but pretty apparent misdemeanor criminal violation of resisting an officer without violence under statute 84 3.02 all within the context of continual non-compliance with lawful orders from the officers involved and what misconduct was committed by the officers literally none none now sure some might argue that the officers could have made different more passive softer decisions in interacting with Hill maybe but that's not required of them and not having done so is not any form of misconduct on their part now no Police use of force tends to look pretty and I can certainly understand why people watch this encounter and don't see it as pretty either but that's really a very feminine sort of criticism right it's not it's not what you said in this case it's not what they did it's how you said it it's how they did it the fact that a police use of force makes someone uncomfortable doesn't make it unlawful the bottom line here is that all of this could have been avoided had Tyreek Hill simply done what the law requires any and all drivers to do when stopped for a claimed traffic infraction present the documentation he's legally required to present and accept the ticket for the claimed defenses which he can either pay or contest later had Hill done that it have been on his way promptly as are the many of thousands upon thousands of people stopped for similar traffic infractions every day in the United States there's only one reason this particular traffic stop went sideways and that reason is Tyreek Hill so for people asking oh my gosh how would this have turned out had the driver not been Tyreek Hill in an apparent attempt to suggest that surely these officers would have murdered a less famous person stopped for speeding well my response is pretty straightforward what if this driver had not been Tyrell Hill okay what if Tyreek Hill was not driving 60 and a 45 what if Tyreek Hill hadn't decided to hide from police observation behind his heavily tinted car window despite police ordering him to keep his window down for purposes of safety what if Tyreek Hill had simply complied with lawful orders during a traffic stop like thousands of other people that same day who were not dragged from their cars what if what if what if I guess we'll never know because Tyreek Hill chose non-compliance and that choice is entirely on Tyreek Hill remarkably enough I would suggest the officers involved here actually gave Hill a pretty huge break they they merely cited him for the speeding in the seat Bel infractions they gave him a ticket that he can either readily pay or he can contest it in court if he wishes and they sent him on his way in time for his game and everything they could instead have arrested Hill for his violation of misdemeanor offense resisting an officer under statute 843.svg and Tyreek Hill could legitimately have been arrested for a misdemeanor offense minutes before the game missed the game and therefore missed out on the touchdown he ultimately scored in that game and that doesn't strike me as excellent judgment on his part but nevertheless here we are of course we live in a time when many people have a hysterically neurotic hatred of police officers as a class and for those people any contentious interaction between police and the public must of course have been the result of police misconduct it can never ever have been the fault of the lawbreaking people whom who are the reason that Society hires and empowers police officers to interact with those people and naturally anyone who points out instances where the cops did it right and it was the person with whom the the cops were dealing who did it wrong well anyone pointing that out surely must be a bootlicker I've been getting a lot of bootlicker remarks these same people demonizing police generally well what ises that attitude get us just greater demonization of the police demonetization of the police more prosecutions of police experienced police officers driven from the profession and replaced by far capable officers I mean what could go wrong and then they wonder why some police interactions do go badly sideways why their communities can't seem to hire and retain competent police officers why the police stop responding to a wide variety of calls for service including calls involving acts of violence I'm looking at you YouTube channel the so-called civil rights lawyer I'm sure many others as well and Lord knows what Washington gun law thinks about all this perhaps this is yet another is this another execution of a black man for merely exercising his constitutional rights according to attorney William Kirk I guess we'll have to see what he has to say about it in any case everybody enjoy the inevitable societal collapse that's coming it's sure to be spicy all right folks with all that said I'm going to go ahead and wrap up just remind all of you that if you carry a gun so you hard to to kill you carry a knife you carry pepper spray you study Jiu-Jitsu I do all those things so I'm hard to kill so my family is hard to kill then you also owe it to yourself and your family to make sure you know the law so you're hard to convict as well until next time I remain attorney Andrew braner for the law of self-defense stay safe [Music]