Omar Kelly: Two wrongs don't add up to anyone being right in Tyreek Hill saga

MIAMI — One of the more well-known Biblical verses hits a bull’s-eye on my sentiments regarding the recent saga the Miami Dolphins are involved in.

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone,” — John 8:7.

Nobody is arguing that Tyreek Hill wasn’t a victim on Sunday’s exchange with police, hours before kickoff of Miami’s 20-17 season-opening win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Who deserves to be dragged out of their vehicle for allegedly driving 20 mph above the speed limit, having an officer’s knee placed in his back while handcuffed on the ground? Then later being forced to the ground again by the same overly aggressive officer.

“When we tell you to do something, you do it. You understand?” Danny Torres yelled at Hill as his knee pushed into the All-Pro receiver’s back. “You understand? Not what you want, but what we tell you. You’re a little f—ing confused.”

Officers led the handcuffed Hill to the sidewalk, and one of the officers allegedly kicked him.

Nobody deserves that.

But let’s be transparent here by acknowledging that Hill’s aggressive demeanor when officers approached his black McLaren 720S, and his disobedience at their instructions to roll down his window fueled their anger, heightened their animosity and triggered the power trip one specific motorcycle officer clearly possessed during their exchange.

Hill went against everything I would advise my 22-year-old son to do if he was ever stopped by law enforcement.

I got “the talk” from my father after I saw him get harassed by a policeman on our drive to college orientation in 1995, and I gave my son “the talk” when Travyon Martin was murdered, and that was before he even hit puberty.

No matter what your issue is, don’t give the police a reason to exert its authority.

That’s the best way to survive these encounters, and avoid what Hill called an embarrassing moment, one he still feels is “ a movie,” or some bad dream.

The officer was wrong. But so was Hill. And two wrongs don’t make a right.

And this is coming from someone who was married to a police officer, had an uncle who retired from law enforcement after 30 years and was shot in the line of duty. I also spent 15 years living next to another officer who was the most helpful man in the community.

Yet, I still don’t trust the police because of numerous nasty experiences I have personally survived. Those encountered shaped the way I view law enforcement because all it takes is one bad apple in the bunch to cause destruction.

Let me make this clear. Some of the officers involved were in the wrong because their primary job is to de-escalate situations, and their behavior — especially that of Torres, a 27-year veteran — consistently escalated the ugly incident.

There were six officers on the scene immediately, but only one — Torres — was consistently aggressive with every Dolphins player, which explains why he was immediately reassigned.

“Gone. He gotta go, man,” Hill said on Wednesday, a day before Miami’s AFC East showdown against the Buffalo Bills. “In that instant right there, not only did he treat me badly, he also treated my teammates with disrespect. He had some crazy words towards them and they ain’t even do nothing.”

Let this serve as a learning lesson for all officers, and maybe protocol for traffic stops should be examined and fine-tuned.

An officer’s standard for behavior should be higher because her or she has the power and authority to end someone’s life.

With power comes responsibility. And it damn sure needs to come with accountability.

But for Hill to request that Torres lose his job over Sunday’s incident is unnecessary, and short sighted.

We don’t know officer Torres’ history, and his track record with civilians. One horrendous day shouldn’t lead to someone losing a career he or she has spent nearly three decades building.

While Hill’s one of the NFL’s most talented players, the 30-year-old happens to be on his fifth, or sixth NFL life because of the numerous legal situations he has put himself in this past decade, which includes domestic violence, alleged child abuse and last year’s assault of a boat captain.

Hill’s history and consistent misbehavior proves he’s no altar boy, which is why it’s not fair for someone to consistently request a second, third and fifth chance to demand the removal of the officer.

We need to learn from this, and grow from it. All of us.

“It’s a lot to unpack, man. It’s a lot to unpack. It’s a lot we can learn,” Hill said. “I think in football, how we get better from things is we watch the tape and we get better from it. And in this instance, we should do the same.

“A lot of people want to critique, a lot of people want to criticize, a lot of people want to [talk about] conduct whenever they pull people over. We all can learn, man. You know, we in this thing together.”

What we should be learning is to hold our stones before hurling them at someone for a mistake made in a moment that can change lives.

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