21-year-old Samir Hill went from the basketball court to the police station, and he says it’s all because he embarrassed a few officers on the court.
The Allegany College of Maryland junior was simply looking for a casual game of hoops in West Philly. Home from college, he headed out with friends to play with some local kids. Instead, he ended up going hard in the paint against two Philadelphia police officers. Being a member of the college’s Men’s Basketball squad, it’s no surprise that Hill beat the boys in blue.
Videos of the incident have gone viral, and apparently the officers weren’t too pleased, according to Hill.
While speaking with Complex, Hill said that he was playing with some little kids on the court when the police officers approached them:
When I come home from college, I go on the playground and play with the kids a little bit. We were playing some 2 on 2, so I guess [the two cops] didn’t think I was good. They came in the playground, just watching. They say, ‘None of you look good out there.’ They started talking trash. I’m like, ‘Come get on the court.’ They’re talking about, ‘We only play for money.’ I say, ‘How much money y’all want to play for?’ One of the cops was like, ‘How much you wanna play for?’ I say, ‘Matter of fact, we can play for one. Game to one.’
Hill says after a video of the game made its rounds, the two officers attempted to arrest him.
I think it was because of the video, but they said it was the people I was around. I don’t think it was that though, cause most of the kids I hang around are college kids. I think they just wanted to take me down to the district to show who I was.
Hill wasn’t arrested for anything, and the officers did not explain to him why he was kept at the police station for an hour and a half. They simply said that they thought “they saw something.”
If these allegations are true, then this speaks to a much greater issue of abuse of power exercised by some members of law enforcement. No one should be held against their will for no reason other than simple embarrassment.
