Did the police officer who stopped and arrested Tyreek Hill have ‘Bills Mafia’ as his LinkedIn background?

A wild claim has surfaced online that the police officer involved in the stop and arrest of NFL player Tyreek Hill had a Buffalo Bills background on his LinkedIn profile. Hills was released less than an hour after his arrest, while the officer has since been placed on administrative leave.

Since then, several conspiracy theories have circulated about Hill’s arrest. According to the new claim, the officer who pulled Hill over was a Buffalo Bills fan and had planned the arrest. However, that is not true. The claim is completely false and there is several pieces of evidence that could prove that the wild claim is just a rumor.

The Wild Claim

On Sunday, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Hill was pulled over by police while en route to his team’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Officers pulled Hill, a key player for the Dolphins, from his vehicle and forcibly held him to the ground, as captured on video by several fans who were on their way to the game.

Hill was later released with a speeding ticket and scored a touchdown just hours after the incident. The Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) opened an internal investigation, while Miami Dolphins management called for “swift and forceful action” against the officers involved in what they described as “outrageous conduct.”

The next day, a screenshot of the agent’s LinkedIn profile circulated, reportedly getting more than 1.3 million views. The image showed a profile with a “Bills Mafia” background image, a reference to the Buffalo Bills, a rival of the Dolphins.

The whole thing is rigged

However, the screenshot had been altered and was likely intended as a joke or disinformation. There were signs of editing visible, including the white profile picture border overlapping part of the background image.

Additionally, the fake screenshot differed from what was previously a legitimate LinkedIn profile, though that profile appears to have been deleted.

After the bodycam footage of the officers involved was released on September 9, online investigators claimed to have identified the officer as Manuel Batista, basing his name on a name tag visible in the footage.

There was once a LinkedIn profile under that name, with the same details as in the viral screenshot, but it did not include any images of the Buffalo Bills.

The screenshot had been manipulated to add a Bills Mafia logo in the background and was shared after a viral post on X also included the original LinkedIn profile photo.

Since the image used to support this claim has been manipulated, this can be considered a false claim.