[Link] Moats: "I hope apology is sincere."One of the most troubling stories within the last week has been the bizarre incident between Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats (shown above with his former team, where he was a waste of a roster spot, but that's beside the point) and Dallas, TX police officer Robert Powell. A quick recap: Powell stopped Moats outside Baylor Regional Medical Center in the Dallas suburb of Plano after his vehicle rolled through a red light. He was trying to get to the hospital to spend one last moment with his dying mother-in-law. Moats' wife Tamishia walked away from the scene incident to go into the hospital, even as the officer had his gun drawn. She said there was nothing Powell could have done to persuade her to stay. By the time he received a ticket and a lecture from Powell, his mother-in-law was dead.
The entire 13-minute confrontation is on tape and can be seen here, and the whole thing makes me really question the motives and ethics of authority figures such as Powell. Moats was nothing but respectable as he pleaded with Powell to let him see his mother-in-law, yet the officer acted like an irrational jerk, and deprived Moats of a moment he'll never have back. Fine, he ran a red light - so give him a ticket and be done with it. Or don't give him a ticket at all. This was a dire situation, and I think Moats had every right to be rushing to the hospital, enough to bypass a red light that he knew wouldn't cause anyone any harm if he ran it.
Powell has since been suspended by the Dallas police force and Moats and his wife have been making the rounds in various media outlets to discuss their plight and ask for an aplogy from Powell. (The two were on Good Morning America this morning: watch the video HERE.)
As one YouTube commenter puts it, "half of america's cops are respectable members of society who don the badge because they want to help people and enforce the law. The other half are jackasses like this Powell." What do you think about this situation? Was Powell right in his behavior, because he was enforcing a law and he had no other choice? Or did he act out of line, and should punishments be disregarded in extranneous circumstances like this one?
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ReplyDeleteI think that there are certain times in people's lives when they are faced with the choice to make the RIGHT decision, or to make the LEGAL decision.
ReplyDeleteLet me explain: Moats chose the illegal, but right decision. He went through a red light in an attempt to spend a few minutes with a dying loved one. I would say that a dying loved one takes presidence over running a red light.
I think that cops are generally there for our protection and safety, but what happens when a figure of authority threatens your very mental well-being? What happens when that figure of authority attempts to hold more authority over you than he/she should?
That's what Powell did -- he used his authoritative position to prevent Moats from saying goodbye to his mother in law. At what point does authority end?
This is so disturbing to me. I mean I saw the video on ESPN and how Moats attempted to go through the red light as safely as possible -- the car going through the intersection actually let him go by. What is most disturbing to me is how the cop treated him. Obviously this was not some elaborate scheme to get out of a getting a ticket or to pass through a red light. Nurses were sent down by the hospital explaining the coding of his mother-in-law and how they were going to lose her any second. Why couldn't the cop have just said: "I'll meet you out here in a half an hour" or something if it was SO important he give him the ticket? There was a much better way to handle the situation, especially when Moats, nurses, and other cops are pleading with him to let him go into the hospital. I don't know if I think are punishments should be disregarded, but postponed? Definitely a possibility. If it was something more than a red light traffic violation, maybe there would be more to discuss, but in this case, the officer acted inappropriately and out of line -- especially the way he treated Moats during the stop. There was no need to speak like that. He really should be fired.
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