Officer delayed Moats as relative died

VetSkinsFan · Post by **VetSkinsFan** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:03 am

I just don't see how total disregard for the law can be excused, but I am not going to argue this point any longer. I can see where the cop was in the wrong, but if Moats had not run that light....

That's okay, though, let's err on the side of the emotional, irrational, disrespectful celeb.. I mean, that's where the world's going, anyway.

Deadskins · Post by **Deadskins** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:48 am

VetSkinsFan wrote:the emotional, irrational, disrespectful celeb

Maybe emotional, but he acted pretty rationally and even respectfully until Powell threw those out the window himself.

Cappster · Post by **Cappster** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:51 am

Respect is a two way street. A badge doesn't mean you are above human decency or more important than anyone else. This incident should be a wake up call to all police officers who have the God complex.

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:57 am

VetSkinsFan wrote:That's okay, though, let's err on the side of the emotional, irrational, disrespectful celeb.. I mean, that's where the world's going, anyway.

How about erring on the side of a rational human being who has the ability to make difficult decisions for themselves? Seems to me that kind of caution would have kept a thug at bay, and allowed a man to be there when his own mother passed away.

You mention celebrity as though it's relevant. Maybe that's the only reason that it hit the national news the way that it did, but many of the news sources I follow track this kind of thing all across the country, NFL player or no. So I'm definitely not on any emotional bandwagon with this one.

thedcnative · Post by **thedcnative** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:24 am

As (almost) always, no one is in the right here.

The officer probably went a little over board keeping him 13 minutes while lecturing him like a kid with his learner's permit. At the same time...no matter the situation, you just can't run red lights. You're putting yourself and other drivers in danger.

Countertrey · Post by **Countertrey** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:19 am

thedcnative wrote:As (almost) always, no one is in the right here.

The officer probably went a little over board keeping him 13 minutes while lecturing him like a kid with his learner's permit. At the same time...no matter the situation, you just can't run red lights. You're putting yourself and other drivers in danger.

It's not even close. Context is critical here. There, in fact, are legitimate reasons for moving thorugh a red light... and there is a way to do it. Moats, in my opinion, had both on his side.

Moats was not unreasonable in his response. Mine would have been similar.

Keep in mind that I also have some experience from the cops perspective as well. He was wrong. Period. His behavior was based on saving face, rather than meeting the needs of this citizen.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:22 am

VetSkinsFan wrote:I just don't see how total disregard for the law can be excused, but I am not going to argue this point any longer. I can see where the cop was in the wrong, but if Moats had not run that light....

That's okay, though, let's err on the side of the emotional, irrational, disrespectful celeb.. I mean, that's where the world's going, anyway.

Nobody would have an issue with Moats getting a ticket for the redlight. You're completely missing the point. The officer could have mailed the ticket to him, he could have allowed Moats in to COMFORT HIS WIFES DIEING MOTHER and given him the ticket afterwards.

Moats could have gotten a ticket, nobody cares about the freaking ticket. Nobody cares one bit!! Just let the man in to be with his family within a reasonable amount of time.

I bet if this was someones dog dieing there would be more compassion.

VetSkinsFan · Post by **VetSkinsFan** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:10 pm

Chris Luva Luva wrote:
VetSkinsFan wrote:I just don't see how total disregard for the law can be excused, but I am not going to argue this point any longer. I can see where the cop was in the wrong, but if Moats had not run that light....

That's okay, though, let's err on the side of the emotional, irrational, disrespectful celeb.. I mean, that's where the world's going, anyway.

Nobody would have an issue with Moats getting a ticket for the redlight. You're completely missing the point. The officer could have mailed the ticket to him, he could have allowed Moats in to COMFORT HIS WIFES DIEING MOTHER and given him the ticket afterwards.

Moats could have gotten a ticket, nobody cares about the freaking ticket. Nobody cares one bit!! Just let the man in to be with his family within a reasonable amount of time.

I bet if this was someones dog dieing there would be more compassion.

I'm not missing the point. You're trivializing mine. If he took the two minutes to NOT run the red light, then he would have been fine.

Cooter · Post by **Cooter** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:55 am

I see that the conversation is still going on about this topic so I decided to watch the dash cam one more time. The officer definitely could've handled the situation better and I believe we can all agree with that, but I noticed something at the very end of the video that struck me as odd. I could be reading into it, but when the officer finally released Moats to go into the hospital he didn't look like a man in a hurry to see his dying mother-in-law; he calmly walked toward the door. Unless he'd already been told that she had passed, why wouldn't he be sprinting to her bedside?

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:59 am

VetSkinsFan wrote:I'm not missing the point. You're trivializing mine. If he took the two minutes to NOT run the red light, then he would have been fine.

Hindsight... He had no way of knowing that. And as I said before, give him a ticket for it, that's not a problem.

PulpExposure · Post by **PulpExposure** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:47 am

Chris Luva Luva wrote:
VetSkinsFan wrote:I'm not missing the point. You're trivializing mine. If he took the two minutes to NOT run the red light, then he would have been fine.

Hindsight... He had no way of knowing that. And as I said before, give him a ticket for it, that's not a problem.

I'm totally with you on this, CLL. Haven't posted in this thread to date, but I have to say, the officer reacted incredibly poorly. He saw the guy run a red light, and then he saw them drive into a hospital. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that there is a medical emergency going on. Seriously, no compassion shown by this officer. None.

Bob 0119 · Post by **Bob 0119** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:40 am

I gotta agree here as well. When you see a car violate a traffic law pulling into the hospital, any cop worth his salt should know that person believes there's an emergency. He could have followed them inside and determined whether Moats was lying or not.

It's not like Moats nearly caused an accident. Based on the video, the roads looked pretty empty.

If he drew his weapon (we are assuming he did based on witness statements, even though it isn't shown in the video), that alone should indicate that this guy was pushing the extreme. Running a red light is not a felony, and who cares if the passengers go on inside, his beef is with the driver.