dk15

Absolutely ridiculous, it really pisses me off to see how this black man was treated by a texas police officer after he rolled through a red light en route to the hospital where his mother in law was dieing. Obviously racist cop, I am a white male and this really gets to me, hopefully this dickhead of a cop is fired.

Profiling and racism are all too common in police forces today, I was in albany pulling out of the UA campus a couple weeks back and noticed a car full of 4 black youths pass by, and thought something along the lines of "hopefully none of them have anything on them because it seems to be a liability to travel in a car full of minorities now-a-days." to myself. As I got my green light and pulled out on Western Ave a cop shot out of the gas station parking lot behind me and my heart jumped as I had just picked up a half ounce of Kush from a friend attending UAlbany. The cop passed right by me with his siren blaring and just up the road before I turned onto I90, the cop had the exact car full of minority youths I had just seen pass by pulled over in a business parking lot, with two of the kids standing outside and backup already on scene. I'll all but guarantee the driver of the car had done nothing wrong, he was moving with swift traffic and I assume was picked out because the color of his and his passengers skin.

It is horrible how cops profile and pick out blacks/minorities just because of the color of their skin. A car I was in was also picked out of tons of traffic on my way to a Dave Matthews Band concert and pulled over for my "not wearing my seatbelt" (I was the passenger) and ticketed when I WAS WEARING IT, and I believe it was because the driver of the car was black. Police tactics regarding racial profiling NEED to be changed, however I highly doubt I will ever see it happen.

The Associated Press: Dallas officer delayed NFL player as relative died


" Dallas officer delayed NFL player as relative died

By SCHUYLER DIXON – 1 hour ago

DALLAS (AP) — 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."

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle apologized to the family and announced that Powell would be on paid leave pending an internal investigation.

"When we at the command staff reviewed the tape, we were embarrassed, disappointed," Kunkle said. "It's hard to find the right word and still be professional in my role as the police chief. But the behavior was not appropriate."

Powell, 25, a three-year member of the force, stopped Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano after Moats rolled through a red light.

Police officials said Powell told his commanders he believed he was doing his job, and that he drew his gun but did not point it. Kunkle said Powell was not necessarily acting improperly when he pulled his weapon out, but that once he realized what was happening should have put the gun back, apologized and offered to help the family in any way.

"His behavior, in my opinion, did not exhibit the common sense, the discretion, the compassion that we expect our officers to exhibit," Kunkle said.

Moats' wife, who was in the car along with other relatives, said Powell pointed his weapon at her.

"He was pointing a gun at me as soon as I got out of the car," Tamishia Moats told The Dallas Morning News.

The Moats family did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press. Powell did not respond to requests for comment through the Dallas police union.

Video from a dashboard camera inside the officer's vehicle, obtained by Dallas-Fort Worth station WFAA-TV, revealed an intense exchange in which the officer threatened to jail Moats.

He ordered Tamishia Moats, 27, to get back in the SUV, but after pausing for a few seconds, she and another woman rushed into the hospital. She was by the side of her mother, 45-year-old Jonetta Collinsworth, when she died a short time later from breast cancer.

"Get in there," said Powell, yelling at Tamishia Moats as she exited the vehicle. "Let me see your hands!"

"Excuse me, my mom is dying," Tamishia Moats said. "Do you understand?"

Ryan Moats explained that he waited until there was no traffic before proceeding through the red light. When Powell asked for proof of insurance, Moats grew more agitated and told the officer to go find it.

"My mother-in-law is dying! Right now! You're wasting my time!" Moats yelled. "I don't understand why you can't understand that."

As they argued, the officer got irritated.

"Shut your mouth," the officer said. "You can either settle down and cooperate or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."

By the time the 26-year-old NFL player received a ticket and a lecture from Powell, about 13 minutes had passed. When he and Collinsworth's father entered the hospital, they learned Collinsworth was dead.

Kunkle said the video showed that Moats and his wife "exercised extraordinary patience, restraint in dealing with the behavior of our officer."

"At no time did Mr. Moats identify himself as an NFL football player or expect any kind of special consideration," Kunkle said. "He handled himself very, very well."

The Moats family, who are black, said they can't help but think that race might have played a part in the white officer's behavior.

"I think he should lose his job," Ryan Moats said.

When the exchange was at its most contentious, Powell said he could tow Moats' SUV if he didn't have insurance and that he could arrest him for fleeing because he didn't immediately stop when Powell turned on his sirens. The pursuit lasted a little more than a minute.

"I can screw you over," Powell said. "I'd rather not do that. Your attitude will dictate everything that happens."

The ticket issued to Moats was dismissed, Dallas police spokesman Lt. Andy Harvey said.

Texans spokesman Kevin Cooper said the team had no comment.

Moats, a third-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005 out of Louisiana Tech, was cut by the Eagles in August and later signed with the Texans. In three seasons as a backup, he's rushed for 441 yards and scored four touchdowns.

He was a standout at Bishop Lynch High School, a private school in Dallas, rushing for more than 2,600 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior. "

KillerWeed420

Yep pretty sad. These dumbshit cops keep this up and they just slowly keep loosing public support and trust. My personal opinion is there are just way too many leo's. People need to take personal responsibilty for there own stuff.

Murdock

The unedited video of the incident.

Video | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News

Billy Shears

It really is sickening to see the egos of some of these cops. Moats didn't even speed through the red light. He stopped at the light to see if anyone was coming, then cautiously rolled through the light. He was being as safe as he could be in a dire time. Then after he gets pulled over, the cop didn't even care that his mother-in-law was on her last breaths.

I have great respect for cops that serve citizens with respect, but assholes like this cop deserve to be out of a job. Also, I could definitely see race being a factor in this.

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greenmonster2420

I would kill that fucking bigot. Nothing makes me more mad than a dickhead cop on a power trip. Fucking idiots have no education, have been losers their whole life, and when they finally get some power and say in something for the first time in their life, they think they can play god. They don't care who's lives they ruin; I dont think they have the brain complexity to understand that their actions have consequences as well (usually very serious ones). No fucking empathy. This isn't directed at all cops but jee fucking whizz this makes me so mad.

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Plaidheart

As a black person and as a Texan, cops like this really piss me off. There's so many of them like this, it's almost like being heartless was a requirement at the police academy.

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dk15

What would be the case had this been the average middle class well-built black man dressed in a little baggier than "fitting" clothes? Think it would make CNN/The A/P or would that guy be in court in 3 weeks?

Something to think about...



-And after looking at the link, real sincere how he has his attorney go out and issue a "heartfelt" statement to the Moats' Family, on his behalf. I'm sure her father understands your 15 minute lecture on a simple ticket was justified while his daughter lay dieing inside.

newcarcaviar

All race issues aside, I think this was an inconsiderate thing for the cop to do. If it was some guy rushing his wife in labour to the hospital, don't you think the cop would give him a break.? There are such things as extenuating circumstances.

As I've heard, the Dallas plice chief has issued an apology and the ticket has been nullified. Obviously this is the best they can do, but it still doesn't make up for the fact that this guy was being handed a ticket while this woman died. You'd think that the cop would have a little compassion and common sense...

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Vicki

Yeah, that cop was a total dick. I saw the video clips on CNN yesterday, and I could not believe it. I know I would have been in jail if my Dad was dying because I would have just ran away from the fucker up to my Dad's side. (My Dad did pass away in 2005)

If he wanted to take me to jail later, be my guest, you rotten fuck. I bet a ticket wouldn't be so fucking important if one of HIS parents were dying, and he needed to get to their side. I'd even be willing to bet he'd use his lights to get past red stop lights and through intersections too.

I hope this guy gets fired.

***Other people on CNN brought up another good point too. What if it was a pregnant woman, and the baby was coming out. Would he say to push it back in and wait til he gets the ticket written? What if there were complications and the baby was at risk, or god forbid died?

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