NFL Player pulled over while Mom in law Dies.

DaemonSeid · #1 03-26-2009, 05:20 PM

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle stood in front of a dozen news cameras this afternoon at police headquarters to apologize for the behavior of an officer who stopped a family outside a hospital emergency room.

Kunkle said Officer Robert Powell has been placed on paid administrative leave in connection with an incident last week in which he stopped a family rushing to visit a dying mother, detaining them for 13 minutes to write a traffic ticket.

“His behavior in my opinion, did not exhibit the common sense, discretion, the compassion that we expect our officers to exhibit,” the chief told a packed audience of media outlets that included Inside Edition.

During the traffic stop, caught on the officer’s in-car camera, Powell berated the driver, 26-year-old NFL running back Ryan Moats, and threatened him with arrest for running a traffic light.

“I can screw you over,” said Powell, 25. “I’d rather not do that.”

At one point during today’s news conference, Kunkle seemed to restrain himself from being even more candid with his views on the incident.

“When we in the command staff reviewed the tapes,” he said, “we were embarrassed, disappointed — it’s hard to find the right words and still be professional in my role as a police chief.”

The chief also praised Moats and his family for how they handled the officer’s behavior.

“They exercised extraordinary patience, restraint, dealing with the behavior of our officer,” Kunkle said. “At no time did Mr. Moats identify himself as an NFL football player or expect any kind of special consideration. He handled himself very, very well.”

Moats rolled through a red light as he and his wife were en route to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. A Dallas police squad car pulled their SUV over near the hospital's emergency entrance.

Moats and his wife implored the officer to let them hurry on to the bedside of her ill mother.

“You really want to go through this right now?” Moats pleaded. “My mother-in-law is dying. Right now!”

His wife, Tamishia Moats, said Powell "was pointing a gun at me as soon as I got out of the car. It was the weirdest feeling because I’ve never had a gun pointed at me before under those circumstances.”

Powell then spent long minutes writing Moats a ticket and threatening him with arrest.

link

Pullling over is one thing...drawing a gun....well....that's a bit much.

knight_shadow · #2 03-26-2009, 05:38 PM

*SMH* It HAD to be Dallas...

That cop was being an ass just to be one. One of my line brothers is a cop and he says that they're allowed to use their judgment in situations like this. I don't know how I would have reacted if I was in the same position.

ETA for the lawyers: Would the family have any standing to collect any damages?

srmom · #3 03-26-2009, 05:55 PM

did you watch the unedited video from the police camera?

This made me so mad!! Even after the nurse comes out and says that the lady is about to die and asks if the men can go up to see her, the cop says that he's almost done, then takes minutes more and continues to lecture the guy!!

I hope he gets fired!!!

Here's the article that has the video

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...p.3e9c080.html

DaemonSeid · #4 03-26-2009, 05:58 PM

I wonder what the possibility of her living would have been if the officer had just let him go....

One of them was needed to sign a rescusitation order...

Poor discretion on his part.

And they are laughing about it at the end of the video!!!

No kind of remorse...gotta love audio and video!!!

Little32 · #5 03-26-2009, 05:59 PM

The language for the story running on MSN is significantly different. Interesting....

DaemonSeid · #6 03-26-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little32

The language for the story running on MSN is significantly different. Interesting....

Forget the story....the video is damning all by itself.

and MSN is in bed with Fix News...so of course the language will be 'different'.

Just read it here (AP posted it) and they left out what else transpired (the mom dying after Moats made it in and etc) and other things....wow.

KSigkid · #7 03-27-2009, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Forget the story....the video is damning all by itself.

and MSN is in bed with Fix News...so of course the language will be 'different'.

Just read it here (AP posted it) and they left out what else transpired (the mom dying after Moats made it in and etc) and other things....wow.

Haha, woah there...let's slow up the right wing media conspiracy train just a tad.

All of the MSN stories I saw were by the AP...so it looks like they were just using wire feeds as well, not their own writers.

It looks like what the officer did was wrong, and after the hearings and process is over, he should be out of a job.

DaemonSeid · #8 03-27-2009, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Haha, woah there...let's slow up the right wing media conspiracy train just a tad.

All of the MSN stories I saw were by the AP...so it looks like they were just using wire feeds as well, not their own writers.

It looks like what the officer did was wrong, and after the hearings and process is over, he should be out of a job.

Yep...by a tad...and that's all is needed...

But again, I am not even concerned about the write up, the video IS the story.

Kevin · #9 03-27-2009, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSigkid

It looks like what the officer did was wrong, and after the hearings and process is over, he should be out of a job.

I doubt it. Police officers routinely do much worse than act like douchebags. The detention was 100% legal. 13 minutes for a traffic stop where a warrant check is run doesn't sound horribly out of the ordinary. A police officer is not required to be sensitive and understanding of the reason someone committed a crime. Obviously, the officer was a complete, reprehensible asshole. This might be something which prevents him from being promoted, but as to the loss of his job? My guess is that he has to attend some sort of sensitivity training or something to that effect. I'd be really surprised if he lost his job.

I'm by no means excusing his behavior, it's just that I've seen police officers get away with much, much worse.

KSigkid · #10 03-27-2009, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin

I doubt it. Police officers routinely do much worse than act like douchebags. The detention was 100% legal. 13 minutes for a traffic stop where a warrant check is run doesn't sound horribly out of the ordinary. A police officer is not required to be sensitive and understanding of the reason someone committed a crime. Obviously, the officer was a complete, reprehensible asshole. This might be something which prevents him from being promoted, but as to the loss of his job? My guess is that he has to attend some sort of sensitivity training or something to that effect. I'd be really surprised if he lost his job.

I'm by no means excusing his behavior, it's just that I've seen police officers get away with much, much worse.

Oh absolutely - when I say "should be out of a job," I mean in the sense that his behavior has no place on the police force. I wouldn't be surprised though if he got away with some slap on the wrist, though.

Munchkin03 · #11 03-27-2009, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

and MSN is in bed with Fix News...so of course the language will be 'different'.

Seriously? MSNBC is the polar opposite of Fox News. Not that I like either of them, but making ill-informed statements like that reeks of Tom Earp.

DaemonSeid · #12 03-27-2009, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Seriously? MSNBC is the polar opposite of Fox News. Not that I like either of them, but making ill-informed statements like that reeks of Tom Earp.

No, not really, I wasn't.

KSigkid · #13 03-27-2009, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

No, not really, I wasn't.

How is MSN in bed with Fox News, exactly? I know MSN carries content from Fox Sports, but I didn't think there was a relationship between the news organizations.

MysticCat · #14 03-27-2009, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

I wouldn't get "due process" if I acted like that to a customer at my job. I'd be fired out-right. He's a public official who is a detriment to the city he works for and the citizens who pay his salary.

Exactly. You work for a private employer, which can pretty much do what it wants to do within the bounds of its contract with you.

He, on the other hand, works for the government. (He is a public employee, not a public official). Under the United States Constitution (and I'm betting the Texas Constitution as well), the government cannot depive any citizen, including one that works for it, of property (including salary) without due process of law, which means at the least a fair hearing with an opportunity to be heard.

RU OX Alum · #15 03-27-2009, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Exactly. You work for a private employer, which can pretty much do what it wants to do within the bounds of its contract with you.

He, on the other hand, works for the government. (He is a public employee, not a public official). Under the United States Constitution (and I'm betting the Texas Constitution as well), the government cannot depive any citizen, including one that works for it, of property (including salary) without due process of law, which means at the least a fair hearing with an opportunity to be heard.

officer=/=offical? either way, the man he stopped still has to pay taxes, and those taxes are being used to pay this guy, while he's on leave.

he is not charged with a crime (that i know of) so how does due process come in?