Police Officer Threatens NFL Player While Relative Dies

[RogerDodger]

PLANO, Texas - A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.

Officer Robert Powell also drew his gun during the March 18 incident involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats in the Dallas suburb of Plano, police said.

“I can screw you over,” he said at one point in the videotaped incident. When another officer came with word that Moats’ mother-in-law was indeed dying, Powell’s response was: “All right. I’m almost done.”



At least the police chief seems to have some common sense about this.

I'd just like to do something at my job that would get me put on paid leave.

The rest here:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29895162/

[gdoane]

At least the police chief seems to have some common sense about this.

I'd just like to do something at my job that would get me put on paid leave.

The rest here:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29895162/

I don't think you'd really want to be in this cop's shoes right now. His paid leave is pretty much his severance package. I don't see how he keeps his job or ever works in law enforcement again. Right now he couldn't hope to land a job with Wal*Mart security.

This is such a bad screwup that it's in the "you'll never work in this town again" category. This guy is beyond fired, he's toxic employee of the year.

[mwevans1234]

At least the police chief seems to have some common sense about this.

I'd just like to do something at my job that would get me put on paid leave.

The rest here:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29895162/

Buy yourself some good AFLAC long term disability, and I'll send my boys Vinnie and Rocco down your place to have a conversation with your kneecaps - hellloooooo, paid leave!

That is unbelievable.

Nurse: His mother in law is coding.
Cop: Here's your ticket for running a stop sign. Next time this happens, calmly tell the officer what is going on, and more than likely, you'll be okay.

It is my sincere wish that after this cop is canned, Moats finds him and beats the **** out of him.

[FidelisAdMortem]

The officer has no commonsense, however hes in the right.

It might not be good pr, but he offender committed a violation, the officer has every right to conduct a carstop and issue a summons.

Would I? Probably not.

Attitude of driver/occupants also dictate if discretion is issued.

The comments by the officer also were overboard, but it wasnt vulgar, explicit, or any the sort, it was simply unwarranted banter.

[gdoane]

The officer has no commonsense, however hes in the right.

I disagree because without judgment, "no common sense" as you say, then how can that judgment be right?

What makes this look so very bad is that Ryan Moats could have pulled the NFL card and said "Do You Know Who I Am?" and never sank to that level. He dealt with the officer as a citizen respecting the badge. He didn't do anything wrong unless you go by the book.

I respect the badge. I support law enforcement. I've been in about 7 jails this week, two 911 dispatch centers and a police training facility doing tech support. Anything you want to know about public safety radio, I can either answer or find the answer and get back to you with it. I'm a very good land mobile radio technician. My father worked for Motorola, and anything that says Motorola on it is in my ballcourt.

I can't respect that response by the officer. He had a cooperative stop, he was given a reasonable response to his questioning of why the red light was run and he went by the book.

Sometimes, books are wrong.

It might not be good pr, but he offender committed a violation, the officer has every right to conduct a carstop and issue a summons.

Would I? Probably not.

Attitude of driver/occupants also dictate if discretion is issued.

I don't think the issue is about the authority used at all. Nor is it about the abuse of authority. What it's about is this guy was a jackass who didn't have the common sense to see the WHY an offense was committed before he went Robocop with a glitch in the program.

The comments by the officer also were overboard, but it wasnt vulgar, explicit, or any the sort, it was simply unwarranted banter.

The comments were threatening justice. "I can mess you up" is not in the authority of peace officers. That is for a jury to decide, not me, not you, and here's the reason why.

We have a jury system of justice and charges are nothing but unproven accusations to be decided in the judicial branch of government, and not in the executive branch where law enforcement powers are sourced. This is a basic part of checks and balances.

I will readily admit that I don't have the temperament to deal with idiots. Police work deals with idiots a lot. I'd rather deal with machines and electronics, because at least when those go stupid they have an "off" switch.

This cop (ex-cop soon) lacks the temperament for the job. He can't hack it. I'm not criticizing that because I know I couldn't hack it either, however I know my limitations.

He didn't, and he exceeded them which is why he's in trouble now.

A man has got to know his limitations.

[FidelisAdMortem]

Stating to someone what could happen is not uncommon.

"I could arrest you, but Im only issuing you a summons"

Now I was trained by an old school sergeant who believed in less talk, more action, I was trained to never threaten someone with arrest, you either are putting the cuffs on someone or you are sending the person on their way. No one respects a threat, bc most likely its not backed up.

With that said, this officer observed an infraction, a summons being issued again is not good pr but its for an infraction observed and the officer had every right to issue it.

The banter as I said before was unnecessary.

[sgtmac_46]

The officer has no commonsense, however hes in the right.

It might not be good pr, but he offender committed a violation, the officer has every right to conduct a carstop and issue a summons.

Would I? Probably not.

Attitude of driver/occupants also dictate if discretion is issued.

The comments by the officer also were overboard, but it wasnt vulgar, explicit, or any the sort, it was simply unwarranted banter. My take on the situation exactly! The officer was within his authority.......better judgment would have avoided the PR fiasco, but he wasn't wrong in a legal sense.

[blackcatrun]

Buy yourself some good AFLAC long term disability, and I'll send my boys Vinnie and Rocco down your place to have a conversation with your kneecaps - hellloooooo, paid leave!

That is unbelievable.

Nurse: His mother in law is coding.
Cop: Here's your ticket for running a stop sign. Next time this happens, calmly tell the officer what is going on, and more than likely, you'll be okay.

It is my sincere wish that after this cop is canned, Moats finds him and beats the **** out of him.

Really? Think on this you just seen a car at speed run a red light you turn all your siren and lights and procceed to chase the car at speeds exceeding the limit going through several more stop signs.

The chase stops the man exits the car and procceeds to run.

The man screams a relative is dieing and trys to blow off an officer that has just chased him several blocks at high speeds.

If any thing the cop did his job and Moats is an idiot that cant handle pressure well.

The guy made his own misry and is now trying to blame a man doing his job.

[BillyBobUSA]

The cop was within his authority, but sometimes authority needs to be tempered with mercy and consideration for the person at the time.

If I was taking my wfie to the hospital to deliver a baby or her bleeding badly, the traffic laws would have to be truncated a bit, as safely as possible.

I would hope that if found in such a situation an officer would assist me instead of trying to write me a ticket.

Now Moats wasnt bleeding nor anyone in his car;s life threatened, but once the nurses came out and the other cop, the officer in question should have plitely stepped out of the way and offered to support Moats in getting him to his mother in-law before she died.

Just my opinion.

[birddog1]

If what I have read is correct I believe the officer escalated the situation himself, acted rudely and unprofessionally and should no longer be in a position where he has to interact with the public. In my opinion this guy and other officers like him are the ones that give LE a bad name and make professional officers jobs that much harder.

[badkarma]

Sounds like the cop is an ass, but well within his rights. He chased down a fleeing suspect that refused to pull over for at least a minute after having blown through a red light, according to the article.

I cant see the video (if there is one) but did the wife just jump out of the car and ignore the officers orders immediatly after the car stopped, or did they explain to the cop what was going on and when he refused to let her go she just left?

either way, the suspension is until the investigation is over. I can not imagine this guy will be fired over this, though I do not doubt there will be some punishment.

[uncledoom]

I'm wondering if he would have still given a ticket if the wife was delivering a baby in the back seat....

[Buffalo]

Had no problem with the LEOs actions until the other officer and nurse came out and verified the situation. At that point the officer should have said go. Instead he says It'll be just a minute or something to that effect.

The fact that Moats used his hazards and waited to make sure the intersection was clear before proceeding should have given the cop a clue that he wasn't pulling some ****.

[blackcatrun]

If what I have read is correct I believe the officer escalated the situation himself, acted rudely and unprofessionally and should no longer be in a position where he has to interact with the public. In my opinion this guy and other officers like him are the ones that give LE a bad name and make professional officers jobs that much harder.

I watched a video. Moats was not very easy to find out what was going on from. Over reacted like he was trying to flee the officer with excuse.

If they kill this officers career over this more police are going to get hurt in the line of duty.

[SugarNSpice~Cc]

Come on people try to see this from the officer’s point of view ~ He is driving his beat & he sees a car just blatantly run a red light ~ He turns on his lights & follows them for almost 60 secs (count it out it seems longer than you think) ~ The car keeps driving then pulls into a parking lot at the hospital ~ Most cops would worry why would they need to stall pulling over, what were the occupants up to ~ Then when he asks for a drivers license & proof of insurance the driver is an ass he snaps at the officer telling him he doesn’t have time for this his mother in law is dying “go find it yourself” he said ~ Cops are lied to everyday with people trying to get out of tickets & arrests ~ The guy kept driving he should have pulled over & told the officer what was going on ~ Then people start getting out of the car ~ The cop had no clue if the passenger had a gun or what they were doing ~ He just knows it is late at night this car ran a red light, they are being disruptive & not following a simple instruction to give the officer a license & insurance ~ If he would have just got out his license etc. & spoke to the officer with respect I bet everything would have gone a lot quicker than 13mins & most likely no ticket would had been given ~ Who cares if he is a football player for a nobody team that bullcrap doesn’t matter ~ He ran a red light & put others’ lives on the road at risk ~ If they were concerned enough to disregard others lives why did they all leave a poor dying woman alone, already knowing her time was close ~ DO not blame others for YOUR poor choices ~ Red lights & stop signs do not say ignore in emergency situations ~ I feel for the family that they lost a member but they can’t do whatever they want because of a bad situation either ~


I have rushed in emergencies before & gotten pulled over ~ I did what I was suppose to I pulled over, had my drivers license & insurance ready & treated the officer with respect ~ I haven’t gotten a ticket when there was a good reason for my speeding & it didn’t take more than 2-4 mins to resolve ~ I didn’t run red lights, stop signs, tailgate or cut cars off while doing so either ~ Just because I was in a hurry & wanted to save a life didn’t mean I could put others in danger ~ It was way more serious in my situation because I was taking a friend to the hospital who was in very critical cond. & another time I was taking my Boston ‘Pacey’ to the vet after he was run over by this dumb ass maintenance man driving a John Deer vehicle(type built for the road) in the grass at my complex & both times serious injuries & still I didn’t run a single light or stop sign or cut off/tailgate cars ~ They both made it out okay too ~

I HATE ALL RED LIGHT RUNNERS ~ I was in a serious wreck that sent my SUV flying up spinning & way across to the other side of a huge intersection because of a dumb woman running a red light more than 7 secs after my light turned green cops said she had to at least been driving at 65mph probably more ~


There is never a good reason to put others at risk that is selfish!!! ~ I wouldn’t as upset if they were only speeding & when doing so not cutting in & out of traffic ~ But they weren’t they were running lights & fleeing an officer ~ I know Plano I live in North Dallas MOST of the intersections are big, views of the other traffic are obstructed by buildings trees etc. & a lot of the roads crossing the main roads curve & other vehiclesare on those main roads 24/7 ~ No telling what else this guy did on the road before he was pulled over ~ There was no way to know if they were telling the truth until another officer checked out the situation ~ The officer wasn’t wrong in the way he reacted at first but after a while he should have offered to take it inside after he realized the situation was real but the driver was so out of line & wanted to argue rather than get it over with ~ If the driver would have just done as the officer said & asked if he could go inside & spoke respectfully I doubt things would have unfolded the way they did ~ The driver was wrong & deserved the ticket, the officer was wrong for not taking them inside after finding out the truth ~

[Creefer]

I said my peace in this thread:

http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?t=1390221

Watch the video. Moats is clearly at fault here, not for running the light, but for escalating the situation. He was uncooperative, beligerent, and lied to the officer repeatedly.

But since in our society, no one is responsible for their actions, neither is the police officer. Let's have some police officers check in and tell us what their training instructs them to do when they try to pull over a car, it continues on, then the occupants get out yelling and screaming, flailing their arms, two of the people run off, and then the driver is non-cooperative.

[ChrisSpencer]

The officer has no commonsense, however hes in the right.

It might not be good pr, but he offender committed a violation, the officer has every right to conduct a carstop and issue a summons.

Would I? Probably not.

Attitude of driver/occupants also dictate if discretion is issued.

The comments by the officer also were overboard, but it wasnt vulgar, explicit, or any the sort, it was simply unwarranted banter.

He's in the right by the letter of the law, but in spirit I think that he's absolutely in the wrong.

The purpose of the police force is to serve and protect. The extenuating circumstances here IMO allow for the officer at least to follow the individuals to the hospital to ensure that they really aren't just BS'ing to get out of a ticket.

[SugarNSpice~Cc]

I also stated that the driver was wrong in the way he reacted & that it wouldn’t have unfolded that way if he just did as the officer stated ~

Then I talked about how much I hate red light runners & why ~

[Broseph]

At least the police chief seems to have some common sense about this.

I'd just like to do something at my job that would get me put on paid leave.

The rest here:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29895162/

POWER TRIP!!!

This isn't surprising. Cops using their power and using intimidation to get their point across. Also, having no regard for human life, as if that cop wouldn't have done the very same thing if his Mother-in-law wasn't dying from breast cancer at the age of 45.

And in the video, the cop runs the red light too. I just love how law enforcement routinely violates the same laws the rest of the people have to follow all of the time.

[jimjames418]

IMHO the officer should lose his job. Law enforcement does not need those with his inabilities to connect with the public as point men. It is officers like him who have turned the public against ALL officers, not just the ass holes like him.

[mwevans1234]

Really? Think on this you just seen a car at speed run a red light you turn all your siren and lights and procceed to chase the car at speeds exceeding the limit going through several more stop signs.

The chase stops the man exits the car and procceeds to run.

The man screams a relative is dieing and trys to blow off an officer that has just chased him several blocks at high speeds.

If any thing the cop did his job and Moats is an idiot that cant handle pressure well.

The guy made his own misry and is now trying to blame a man doing his job.

Yeah - he's an idiot for being out of sorts when someone he loves is dying. :rolleyes:

You, however, would be the picture of grace under pressure, driving 25 miles per hour and answering all questions "yes sir" and "no sir" while Ma is dying a couple hundred yards away.

[RogerDodger]

Officer apologizes for actions.

"I wish to publicly and sincerely apologize to the Moats family, my colleagues in the Dallas Police Department and to all those who have been rightfully angered by my actions," Powell said in the statement. "... After stopping Mr. Moats' vehicle, I showed poor judgment and insensitivity to Mr. Moats and his family by my words and actions."


http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80f750ff&template=without-video&confirm=true

[Gunslinger]

The officer has no commonsense, however hes in the right.

It might not be good pr, but he offender committed a violation, the officer has every right to conduct a carstop and issue a summons.

Would I? Probably not.

Attitude of driver/occupants also dictate if discretion is issued.

The comments by the officer also were overboard, but it wasnt vulgar, explicit, or any the sort, it was simply unwarranted banter.

This.

We hear 'excuses' all of the time and unfortunately, this time the excuse was valid. That isn't the case most of the time and its a matter of fellow motorists crying wolf.

The officer will keep his job and as with any internal investigation with media attention, paid leave is usually immediate unless criminal charges are filed. At least I see no reason to fire the guy.

[wayoverthehill]

Really? Think on this you just seen a car at speed run a red light you turn all your siren and lights and procceed to chase the car at speeds exceeding the limit going through several more stop signs.

The chase stops the man exits the car and procceeds to run.

The man screams a relative is dieing and trys to blow off an officer that has just chased him several blocks at high speeds.

If any thing the cop did his job and Moats is an idiot that cant handle pressure well.

The guy made his own misry and is now trying to blame a man doing his job.Except that that is not what happened. I live less than 2 miles from the hospital where this all took place and am very familiar with the surrounding neighborhood.
Moats exited off the Dallas North Tollway on to Preston Road which is a major artery. He says he stopped and made sure no traffic was coming before proceeding. At that time of the night there was probably minimal traffic. Less than 2 blocks up he would have turned right on to Alliance Blvd. which is another 2 blocks from the hospital and there are NO stop signs along the route. He then turned right into the area between the hospital and parking garage where there is ONE stop sign, which he may have rolled through, or maybe not. Once stopped, the officer showed absolutely no common sense. He could have let Moats and especially his wife go up to her mother's room and be there as she passed. Moats was hardly going anywhere with the officer down in the parking lot (actually the valet parking area) with his car right there in sight.
I love cops and appreciate what they do but this guy was being an ass. But again, he's 25 and lots of 25 y/o guys are asses. JMHO.

[FidelisAdMortem]

I saw on foxnews today they were debating this. A defense attorney said an officer has no right to take their gun out during a traffic stop and that you cannot be arrested for a traffic infraction.

I almost went nuts in anger how someone with a law degree can be so wrong.

[FidelisAdMortem]

I also saw the dashcam video, at no time did this officer use vulgar language, racist language, of the sort, at the beginning you have people jumping out of a car you just practically chased through a red light/stop signs, of course the officer will have his gun out. For anyone second guessing the officer on tactics, I just shake my head in disbelief.