Manuel Batista, a sixth-year officer with the Miami-Dade Police Department has been identified as one of the officers involved in the controversial traffic stop of Dolphins star Tyreek Hill.
Tyreek was arrested by officers of Miami PD the morning of Sunday, September 8th, 2024, just hours before the Dolphins’ season opener against the Jaguars.
The controversial stop saw the former Chiefs wide receiver being manhandled and cuffed by officers, sparking outrage on social media.
That outrage only intensified when body cam video of the encounter with Tyreek Hill was released by Miami PD.
Marcel Louis-Jacques, the ESPN Miami Dolphins reporter, shared the footage of X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Body cam footage of Tyreek Hill and Calais Campbell’s detainment Sunday has been released”
Body cam footage of Tyreek Hill and Calais Campbell’s detainment Sunday has been released pic.twitter.com/aZw5eNy6Ht
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) September 9, 2024
The video sparked absolutely furious reactions…“Those Officers were on a power trip,” one user wrote.
Another said: “And this is how they behave after we put cameras everywhere, imagine if there wasn’t,”
The video of the incident also enabled some social media users to identify at least one officer involved, Manuel Batista, according to a screengrab.
ALLEGEDLY: this is one of the cops that was abusing his authority on Tyreek Hill, Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith.
Officer Manuel Batista.
In the screenshot of the bodycam, you can see M. Batista and the year 2019. pic.twitter.com/mLKvNfrTDt
— Christian (@c_alexander_97) September 9, 2024
Manuel Batista was praised in February by the North Miami Beach Police Department after graduating from the Miami-Dade School of Justice Basic Law Enforcement Class #382, according to a tweet from the North Miami Beach PD X account. Batista reportedly finished top of his class.
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The post was quickly bombarded by social media users following the revelation that Batista was part of the group of officers involved in the Tyreek Hill fiasco.
Did this training include de-escalation techniques? “I think he was out sick that day,” one user wrote.
Another said: “Fire this completely lost officer”
Later on Sunday after the incident, the Miami-Dade Police Department announced that an officer had been placed on administrative leave following the incident. It’s not clear if that was officer Batista.
“Following the incident involving Tyreek Hill, I have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter. One of the officers involved in the incident has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation is conducted,” Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) Director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement, per CNN.
“I’m committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers.”
Meanwhile, Tyreek Hill’s agent Drew Rosenhaus has announced that they intend to pursue legal action.
“What happened today to Tyreek at the stadium is completely unacceptable. Tyreek did not deserve to be treated that way by the police involved.” he said.
All About Miami PD Officer Manuel Batista
Officer Manuel Batista, who is trending for his alleged involvement in the arrest of Tyreek Hill, joined the Miami-Dade Police Department in October 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He graduated from the University of Phoenix in 2014 with a degree in General Business Administration and Management. He previously attended Miami College.
Following his graduation, he worked for close to five years as the Area Sales Manager for Walgreens before joining the force in October 2019. He also worked as a manager at AT&T.
According to his bio, Officer Manuel Batista sees himself as passionate and gives 100% in everything he does.