Officer delayed Moats as relative died

[CanesSkins26]

If your mother is dying you take your vacation time and stay with her bed side. Do not blame the cop for that thirteen minutes. You should have already been there. Or the wife actually since that is the mother in law of the Moats.

The officer showed poor judgement yes. But, it is not his fault Moats wife missed his mother passing. Should have been there bed side in the first place.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement to make without knowing the details of her condition. A patient's condition can deteriorate quite rapidly and on the flip side, it can take someone weeks or months to pass from this type of condition and it's unrealistic to expect a person to be there 24/7.

[Countertrey]

When my grandmother was ill years back my family was there for a week in waiting. We all knew she was going to pass. If your mother is dying you take your vacation time and stay with her bed side.

A bedside vigil need not be exaggerated. Most of us have done one or two in our lives. A few members remain at the bedside... other go to attend to life, knowing that someone will call if the situation changes. You're blaming the family? What a crock.

You have no idea how long this family's vigil lasted.

You never went home to change clothes, to sleep, to get a meal, to pay bills, to feed the dog, to make sure the kids got off to school, to go to church, to shower, nothing? Tell the truth.

[Hoss]

I'm speaking from a first-person perspective here. The old-timers at Hogs.net will know what I mean. I don't care to rehash the details.
Who was wrong and who was right here will vary wildly. Those who are in the job will tell you that one look at the size of the driver tends to make the officer nervous, and hysterical females serve no other purpose (in the mind of the officer) than to put the male instinct to protect into overdrive. IMHO, Moats conducted himself very calmly, yet assertively. The officer went on automatic pilot, mentally. It's a self-preservation mode that many people who carry supervisory, military or police responsibilities have ingrained.
The real problem here is that the family (and here is where my perspective comes in) tends to subconsiously assign blame to the officer for the death of the loved one. As crazy as that may seem to those who have never been on either side of the situation, it's true. Those precious, last few seconds of a life...you want to be there. When something or someone gets in the way of that, you seethe. You feel like, if only you would have been there, you could have done something, anything...that your very presence might have somehow delayed or even changed the outcome.
Of course, the reality is that a final stage cancer patient on a morphine drip and is beyond regular means of communication, has one last sure-fire way of letting the staff know that they're ready to let go. They lose control of their bowels. At that point, the staff immediately calls the family to advise them to get there, and get there fast.
Moat, and his family, were denied the chance to say goodbye by an officer who clearly was not working without fear or possibly prejudice. He will be questioning himself for a very long time if he is just a guy and not some schmuck.
The family, on the other hand, will always remember the man that kept them from the final farewell.
Nobody wins here, folks. There's nothing to be gained here other than a mea culpa. The civil suit that's sure to follow will not do anything to relieve the pain, even if the proceeds are donated to pink ribbon campaigns.
Sometimes, [you-know-what] happens. That's as close as I've come to forgiving the officers who kept me from the scene of my particular loss, saying only that everybody who was there was doing their very best and that I should go wait at the hospital.

This gives great insight to the possible situation. Tc, sorry to hear you've experienced something like this.

[VetSkinsFan]

I've had many conversations about this subject since my original posts. I can see the other, more popular side of the coin. I can even agree with it to some extent, since I like to argue(I wouldn't label is debating due to lack of skills) both sides of a point.

With that said, I've been enlightened thru reflection and discussion on how the situation could have been handled better. I will admit I've never been in law enforcement so I do not know about the civiliam side of the training.

-Maybe the officer was intimidated by the size of Moats, after all he is an NFL running back and I'm sure scrawny doesn't come to mind.
-He was notably miffed at the disregard of the lights and siren as he stated in the video.
-I speculate that he was miffed at the two ladies completely disregarding his orders when they finally stopped.
-Moats, in his heightened emotional state, was not completely cooperative and kept interrupting the cop and telling him, "If you're going to give me a ticket, go ahead and give me a ticket then(paraphrase, I do not know the exact verbiage he used)."

I believe all of these factors caused the officer to act the way he did. I imagine he felt a bit slighted and disrespected to say the least.


My only thought is this: If Moats didn't run that red light (and those three stop signs I saw in the video that were never mentioned), wouldn't he have saved all of this trouble? If he had simply obeyed the traffic laws, none of this would have happened. Chances are, that light wouldn't have held him up more than 60-120 seconds...but it held him up 13-20 minutes(depending on which report you listen to) by not obeying.

[VetSkinsFan]

When it rains, it pours.

Another allegation has surfaced against the officer who prevented Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats from entering a hospital to see his dying mother-in-law last week.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Maritza Thomas, wife of former Cowboys linebacker Zach Thomas, was handcuffed and spent approximately three hours in jail after Dallas officer Robert Powell pulled her over for an illegal U-turn in July 2008.

"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," Thomas told The Morning News. "But we wanted to tell our story, not knowing how many others have been affected by Officer Powell. We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."

Four of the five tickets issued against Maritza Thomas were later dropped including failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, improper address on driver's license and a registration sticker was not on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge, and her record will be cleared next month.

Now even more it sounds like this cop is just a total jerk that abuses his power.

These stories will continue to surface and there are ZERO details to the situation. Thinking critically and not jumping on the bandwagon blindfolded is the best option.

[Cappster]

Thomas' wife detained by Moats' cop

Another allegation has surfaced against the officer who prevented Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats from entering a hospital to see his dying mother-in-law last week.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Maritza Thomas, wife of former Cowboys linebacker Zach Thomas, was handcuffed and spent approximately three hours in jail after Dallas officer Robert Powell pulled her over for an illegal U-turn in July 2008.

"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," Thomas told The Morning News. "But we wanted to tell our story, not knowing how many others have been affected by Officer Powell. We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."

Four of the five tickets issued against Maritza Thomas were later dropped including failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, improper address on driver's license and a registration sticker was not on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge, and her record will be cleared next month.

"This situation never should've happened," Maritza Thomas' attorney, Brody Shanklin told The Morning News. "Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, no person should be arrested for a Class C citation. In this case, it was an example of Officer Powell being overzealous and exerting his authority in a manner that he never should have."

Bob Gorsky, Powell's attorney, defended his client's actions.

"I do understand that an arrest on multiple traffic charges happens often and is absolutely proper under these circumstances," Gorsky told The Morning News. "Often, when there are multiple charges, an arrest made and bond posted, some of the charges from a single event are later dropped."

Powell pulled over Moats for running a red light on his way to the hospital to see his dying mother-in-law. Powell detained Moats for 13 minutes, in which time his mother-in-law died. Powell issued an apology on Friday.

A Dallas police spokesman declined to comment but said the department would investigate any complaint filed against Powell, who is on administrative leave.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4024877

Looks more and more like the cop is just a power tripping pig who uses his "authority" to harass people.

[tcwest10]

He's on the job for three years. In that time, he has pulled over more NFL Players wives than most cops will in a career.
I'm not ready to call him names yet. Let's judge his record as a public servant over the life of his career, and not over two traffic stops.
Besides, it was a TTiT wife. I can handle that. Lock 'em all up, I say!

[Chris Luva Luva]

He's on the job for three years. In that time, he has pulled over more NFL Players wives than most cops will in a career.
I'm not ready to call him names yet. Let's judge his record as a public servant over the life of his career, and not over two traffic stops.
Besides, it was a TTiT wife. I can handle that. Lock 'em all up, I say!

I don't think he deserves to have a career. How many more people does he deserve to harass before he's let go? This is common sense stuff, he's a malicious jerk, it's the simple.

[langleyparkjoe]

He's on the job for three years. In that time, he has pulled over more NFL Players wives than most cops will in a career.
I'm not ready to call him names yet. Let's judge his record as a public servant over the life of his career, and not over two traffic stops.
Besides, it was a TTiT wife. I can handle that. Lock 'em all up, I say!

I don't think he deserves to have a career. How many more people does he deserve to harass before he's let go? This is common sense stuff, he's a malicious jerk, it's the simple.

[HEROHAMO]

When my grandmother was ill years back my family was there for a week in waiting. We all knew she was going to pass. If your mother is dying you take your vacation time and stay with her bed side.

A bedside vigil need not be exaggerated. Most of us have done one or two in our lives. A few members remain at the bedside... other go to attend to life, knowing that someone will call if the situation changes. You're blaming the family? What a crock.

You have no idea how long this family's vigil lasted.

You never went home to change clothes, to sleep, to get a meal, to pay bills, to feed the dog, to make sure the kids got off to school, to go to church, to shower, nothing? Tell the truth.

After thinking about the situation , yeah ok it was not the families fault. The police man could have excercised some common sense and human compassion. It looks more and more like this copper is power tripper. (for lack of a better term)

[HEROHAMO]

If your mother is dying you take your vacation time and stay with her bed side. Do not blame the cop for that thirteen minutes. You should have already been there. Or the wife actually since that is the mother in law of the Moats.

The officer showed poor judgement yes. But, it is not his fault Moats wife missed his mother passing. Should have been there bed side in the first place.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement to make without knowing the details of her condition. A patient's condition can deteriorate quite rapidly and on the flip side, it can take someone weeks or months to pass from this type of condition and it's unrealistic to expect a person to be there 24/7.

yeah, you're absolutley right.

[Countertrey]

Hamo! You've restored my faith!

[Cooter]

Powell resigns after Moats incident

[VetSkinsFan]

I still don't think this is worth him losing his job over. If you honestly think that this resignation was over guilt and not external pressure, then I don't know what else to say.

[Deadskins]

He probably just wanted out of the spotlight.

[VetSkinsFan]

His chief probably just wanted out of the spotlight.

I corrected it for ya

[Chris Luva Luva]

I still don't think this is worth him losing his job over. If you honestly think that this resignation was over guilt and not external pressure, then I don't know what else to say.

Good, I'm glad he left. That police force is better because of it. Jerks like that don't deserve to wear a badge and they don't need to be out there abusing their authority. Hopefully this will bring light to similiar situations happening to regular people. The fact that he felt he was right means that he would have done it again.

[VetSkinsFan]

I still don't think this is worth him losing his job over. If you honestly think that this resignation was over guilt and not external pressure, then I don't know what else to say.

Good, I'm glad he left. That police force is better because of it. Jerks like that don't deserve to wear a badge and they don't need to be out there abusing their authority. Hopefully this will bring light to similiar situations happening to regular people. The fact that he felt he was right means that he would have done it again.

There are usually 3 sides: plaintiff, defense, and somewhere in between the truth.

[cleg]

Another snippet from the story that leans on the side of Moats, but really isn't specific:

But Powell spent several minutes inside his squad car, checking Moats for outstanding warrants.

A total of 13 minutes is said to have passed in dealing with this officer. There were people disobeying an order of the officer.

"My mom is dying," Tamishia Moats replied. She and her great aunt ignored the officer and headed into the hospital, while Ryan Moats and another family member stayed behind, according to the report.

They're lucky they weren't handcuffed for an act like this.

"I waited until no traffic was coming," Moats told Powell, explaining why he had rolled through the red light. "I got seconds before she's gone, man," he said, the newspaper reported.

I would have waited at the red light. I've been in vaguely similar circumstances, and I obeyed traffic lights.

Powell demanded his license, which Moats produced, and proof of insurance, which Moats could not find. "Just give me a ticket or whatever," Moats said, his frustration beginning to show, according to the report.

Disrespect to an officer and will get nothing positive from the officer.

"Shut your mouth," Powell told him, the newspaper reported. "You can cooperate and settle down, or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."

In another exchange reported by the Morning News, Moats again asked the officer to complete the traffic stop quickly.

"If you're going to give me a ticket, give me a ticket," Moats said.

"Your attitude says that you need one," Powell replied.

The piece was cut in a few places... I'd like to see the whole piece. They didn't listen to the officer, and that will hold you up, plain an simple.

Overall, both sides could have handled it better. Having dealt with the law a few times in my younger years, Moats did everything he wasn't supposed to do. Talk back, tell the officer what he should do, ect.

I realize that it was a dire circumstance, but ultimately, it's the officer's judgment call, and if the officer isn't receptive to Moats situation, then really, what is Moats supposed to do? He admittedly ran a red light. The two other people disregarded a direct order from an officer. No respect for the law.

In watching that edited video and reading the slanted article, I believe the officer was completely within his rights and shouldn't be punished. I also don't believe it was racial.

Man, you are such a simpleton.

[Chris Luva Luva]

There are usually 3 sides: plaintiff, defense, and somewhere in between the truth.

True.

But...there's no debating that in this situation that the cop is a jerk. It's on video, there's no hearsay or opinion. The fact of the matter is that he was on a powertrip and habitually does so. And any other cop out there that is like that needs to be fire also. There's not shortage of cops, we don't need him, being a cop should be a privelege.

[VetSkinsFan]

Another snippet from the story that leans on the side of Moats, but really isn't specific:

But Powell spent several minutes inside his squad car, checking Moats for outstanding warrants.

A total of 13 minutes is said to have passed in dealing with this officer. There were people disobeying an order of the officer.

"My mom is dying," Tamishia Moats replied. She and her great aunt ignored the officer and headed into the hospital, while Ryan Moats and another family member stayed behind, according to the report.

They're lucky they weren't handcuffed for an act like this.

"I waited until no traffic was coming," Moats told Powell, explaining why he had rolled through the red light. "I got seconds before she's gone, man," he said, the newspaper reported.

I would have waited at the red light. I've been in vaguely similar circumstances, and I obeyed traffic lights.

Powell demanded his license, which Moats produced, and proof of insurance, which Moats could not find. "Just give me a ticket or whatever," Moats said, his frustration beginning to show, according to the report.

Disrespect to an officer and will get nothing positive from the officer.

"Shut your mouth," Powell told him, the newspaper reported. "You can cooperate and settle down, or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."

In another exchange reported by the Morning News, Moats again asked the officer to complete the traffic stop quickly.

"If you're going to give me a ticket, give me a ticket," Moats said.

"Your attitude says that you need one," Powell replied.

The piece was cut in a few places... I'd like to see the whole piece. They didn't listen to the officer, and that will hold you up, plain an simple.

Overall, both sides could have handled it better. Having dealt with the law a few times in my younger years, Moats did everything he wasn't supposed to do. Talk back, tell the officer what he should do, ect.

I realize that it was a dire circumstance, but ultimately, it's the officer's judgment call, and if the officer isn't receptive to Moats situation, then really, what is Moats supposed to do? He admittedly ran a red light. The two other people disregarded a direct order from an officer. No respect for the law.

In watching that edited video and reading the slanted article, I believe the officer was completely within his rights and shouldn't be punished. I also don't believe it was racial.

Man, you are such a simpleton.

Wow, such insight and intelligence in such few words. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe I've been outsmarted.

[Deadskins]

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe I've been outsmarted.

But you've got your thinking cap on?

[Countertrey]

I still don't think this is worth him losing his job over. If you honestly think that this resignation was over guilt and not external pressure, then I don't know what else to say.

Good, I'm glad he left. That police force is better because of it. Jerks like that don't deserve to wear a badge and they don't need to be out there abusing their authority. Hopefully this will bring light to similiar situations happening to regular people. The fact that he felt he was right means that he would have done it again.

There are usually 3 sides: plaintiff, defense, and somewhere in between the truth.

"Usually" only applies when there is not in-car video and audio. Keep in mind that this tool generally supports the police, and nails the "defendant". This, however, was pretty clearly a cop who was full of his own importance.

Some people are not made to be cops...

[Irn-Bru]

Yeah, the truth is not "in the middle" on this one. Sometimes people get screwed, with no two ways about it.

[VetSkinsFan]

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe I've been outsmarted.

But you've got your thinking cap on?