Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Shame To The Badge

Ryan Moats, running back for the Houston Texans, and his wife were rushing to the Baylor Regional Medical Center to see her mother as she was dying. En route, Moats did a rolling stop through a stop sign, and was pulled over by Dallas Police Officer Robert Powell.

Officer Powell was less than Dallas' finest when he went on a power trip on the Moats family.

From DallasNews.com:
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.

But then it only gets worse:

Kunkle, asked about Powell’s reaction to the investigation, said the officer told a member of the command staff that he was just doing his job.

“My understanding is that Officer Powell, even when he saw the videotape, believed he had not acted inappropriately," Kunkle said.

“I've read some of the comments in some of the publications, and the majority of the comments reflect my position — that at the point the officer was told that they were responding to a dying family member, that should have been his concern: to allow those people to get access to that family member."

The scene, captured by the officer's dashboard video camera, prompted apologies and the promise of an investigation even before Kunkle met the media.

“There were some things that were said that were disturbing, to say the least,” said Lt. Andy Harvey, a police spokesman.

The story says that Powell is currently assigned to dispatch while he is being investigated. I don't think even that is a good idea. Whatever his issues are, whether he is racist or just a jackass or both, shouldn't be even working. But if they insist on allowing him to work, there is no way he should be allowed to have any contact with the public.

I also hope that they end up charging him with misconduct in office or something similar, although I personally doubt he would learn anything.

12 comments:

  1. No story about the Oakland, CA police officers that were killed in the line of duty? Or did I miss it?

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  2. Those four officers were true heroes, which makes Powell's action all the more disgraceful.

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  3. So...I guess I didn't miss the story you did on the coppers who were killed in the line of duty...you just didn't find it important enough to mention. Man you really are something. It's ALL about doing whatever YOU can to slam people.

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  4. Actually, the story had significance to me because of the too many times I've had to rush to the death bed of a loved one, the incredible anxiety you feel between the need to go as fast as you can and the fear of being pulled over and further delayed.

    I missed the last goodbye to my grandfather because I stopped for a red light, even though it was three in the morning and there were no other cars in sight. That was four years ago and it still bothers me.

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  5. No story about the Oakland, CA police officers that were killed in the line of duty? Or did I miss it?

    Hey Anon: Where's your story about the police officers?

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  6. Anon's comment points out the falacy in seeing the world in a "good guys and bad guys", a "cowboys and indians" manner.

    In my community I an a very strong proponent of our police. I am also in a position where that support actually means something.

    But woe to the officer who betrays the public trust, as this officer almost certainly did.

    So, Anon, one can be a very strong supporter of our heros in the police and fire ranks, yet despise and call for the firing of a poor, prejudiced, or incompetent officer.

    Here's a bit of truth to ponder: Good police officers don't appreciate poor officers any more than anyone else. Good officers are tainted by the bad officers, and they don't like or deserve it.

    If we all cannot speak in one voice and decry the actions of this officer without finding threads of contention to argue, then we do a disservice to the fine, excellent officers who do a remarkable job under dangerous and mentally straining conditions every day.

    -Soft Words and Broad Swords-

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  7. Unlike most of you, i am not going to play monday morning quarterback. Yes, it looks bad, under the circumstances, but look at reality.
    1. The officer legitimately pulled the guy over.
    2. The driver of the sUV did not stop immediately. Afdter the fact, it is understandable, but at the time, did the officer know this? Of course not.
    3. People started piling out the SUV and into the hospital. Again, under the circumstances, understandable, but did the officer know this?
    4. The driver said his relative was dying. True, but how many times has this officer been lied to to get out of ticket. Probably just about everyday.
    5. the officer either pulled a gun or unholstered it, apparently after the people got out of the car. How did the officer know what was going on? He doesn't have ESP.
    I concede, in hind site, this was a very bad situation, but unlike his superviors, I am not willing to throw the officer under the bus and I am not going to play Monday morning quarterback.
    I just wish that officer has the ESP powers that you have so this situation could have been prevented.

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  8. I know of a few similiar situations involving the Milwaukee County Sheriff's department, where they pulled people over as they were rushing to the hospital. the cases I know of, the deputies very graciously ESCORTED the people the rest of the way. That way, they can ensure the people are telling the truth, while still serving the public and ensuring the safety of the other drivers.

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  9. Anonymous...you don't know me so you don't know how I see the world. I am certain capper knows exactly what point I was making in my comment.

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  10. capper...you can't really think a red light and you worrying about being pulled over by a cop if you went through it caused you to miss your last goodbye to your grandfather.

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  11. The cop was in the wrong. I lived in Dallas for many years, and I know from first hand experience how much of a dick quite a few of the cops there can be. That being said, there are also a lot of good cops in the area that don't get the recognition they deserve.

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  12. Anon 3:04

    Considering that there are a billion anons that comment here, I don't.

    Anon 3:11

    In hindsight, I agree. But two things: One, I was rather emotional and not thinking as I normally would. Two, we were with him less than an hour before he passed. We think that he was holding on until we were gone to spare us the pain of actually seeing him die.

    Kate,

    Those are called cowboy cops. They generally do make life much more miserable for the good cops.

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