Officer delayed football player as relative died

Houston’s Texans running back Ryan Moats was pulled over for running a red light outside Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. He was then held by an officer outside the hospital where his mother-in-law was reportedly dying. Police officer Robert Powell did not believe what Moats was saying and even at one point pulled his gun on Moats and his wife. After Powell had drawn his gun another police officer came out of the hospital with the news that Moats mother-in-law was indeed dying. The only words that Powell had to say after he found out the truth were "all right, I'm almost done". Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle apologized to Moats and stated that Powell would be on paid leave pending and internal investigation. Powell stated that he did indeed draw his gun but at no point did he point it at the couple. Moat’s wife says that the moment she got out of the car the gun was pointed at her. Powell told police officials that he believed he was doing his job. Kunkle said that Powell was not exactly acting improperly when he pulled his weapon, but he also said that once Powell realized what was happening he should have put his gun away, apologize for the way he acted, and offer to help the family in any way that he could. He says that Powell did not exactly possess the common sense, discretion, and compassions that they expect their officers to exhibit. A videotape from the dashboard of the police car was obtained and holds the whole conversations and all the actions on it.

Officer delayed Moats as relative died

I would really like to see that video to see how this man reacted to the police officer. Was he acting irrationally or was the officer being a jerk? Maybe it was a case of prejudice against a black man. Maybe the officer just couldn’t understand why he would make such a big deal over his mother-in-law. Maybe the officer didn’t like his own mother-in-law. It’s hard to say what went on without seeing the video. At the time of pulling the car over the officer didn’t know the whole story and he was just doing his job. It is also good that he did eventually apologize for the incident, but if he did point the gun at the couple as Mrs. Moats claims then this sounds a little overboard. It sounds to me as if he let his authority get to his head. Then it is probably appropriate that he did get reprimanded for the incident.

Wow! I would be really mad if a police officer pulled a gun on me when trying to explain to him that someone in my family was in the hospital and dying. Like I understand that the officer was doing this job but I think he didn't have to pull his gun out and point it at them. And when he said, "all right, I'm almost done" that's just wrong I would of let them go. Maybe the officer just didn't believe them, but I would of drove them to the hospital to make sure that they weren't lying. I think that if they were that upset that they officer should of known something was wrong.

I agree that it was pretty crazy that he pulled the gun on them, it makes you wonder though what actions they had done to make him feel that he needed to pull his gun out. If the officer said that he didn’t point it at anyone though it would be kind of ridiculous to say he didn’t when he is on type the whole time. I think that once he found out that they were telling the truth he should have been a little more compassionate so they could at least get to the hospital, and then he could have taken other issues up with them at a later time!

This situation is a difficult one. Obviously the officer should have been more understanding, and he should have tried to help the couple. But the officer could have had a lot of things going through his head. It is not like this situation happens every day. He did what he thought was the right thing. And, think about what the police officer has to go through now. I think he has quit his job, and in this economy what will he do to earn money. Will he find a job? It is easy to point the finger at him, but if you weren’t there in the situation, it’s hard to judge.