Cop holds moats while mother in law dies

[Macken]

PLANO, Texas - A police officer was put on desk duty after pulling over an NFL player rushing to see his dying mother-in-law in the hospital and holding him in the hospital parking lot as she died.

Dallas police officer Robert Powell stopped Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center during the early hours of March 18 after Moats rolled through a red light. Moats and his family had gotten a call saying his mother-in-law was dying.

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 Moats' wife, Tamishia Moats, to get back in the SUV, but she ignored him and rushed inside the hospital to see her mother, Jonetta Collinsworth, 45, and was by her side when she died a short time later. She had breast cancer.

"Get in there,'' said Powell, yelling at 27-year-old Tamishia Moats, as she exited the car. "Let me see your hands!''

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

Moats explained that he waited until there was no traffic before proceeding through the red light and that his mother-in-law was dying, right then.

Moats couldn't find his insurance paperwork, and was desperate to leave.

"Listen, if I can't verify you have insurance...,'' Officer Powell said. "My mother-in-law is dying,'' Moats interrupted.

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.''

The officer later told Moats, "I can screw you over. I would rather not do that. You obviously will dictate everything that happens; and right now, your attitude sucks."

By the time the 26-year-old NFL player received a ticket and a lecture from Powell, 25, at least 13 minutes had passed.

When he and Collinsworth's father entered the hospital, they learned Collinsworth was dead, The Dallas Morning News reported in Thursday's editions.

The Moatses, who are black, said they can't help but think that race might have played a part in how Powell, who is white, treated them.

"I think he should lose his job,'' said Ryan Moats, a Dallas native.

"For him to not even be sympathetic at all, and basically we're dogs or something and we don't matter — it basically shocked me," Moats told WFAA.

Powell was placed on disptach duty pending an investigation. The ticket issued to Moats was dismissed, Lt. Andy Harvey told WFAA-TV.

"There were some things that were said that were disturbing, to say the least,'' he told the Dallas Morning News.

Powell told police officials he believed he was doing his job, said Dallas Police Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson.

 

[.GR]

Wow. That's ridiculous!

 

[MapleLeaf]

how does it make you feel that the people who are supposed to keep the community safe are criminals

 

[dlc7619]

My girlfriend ex husband is a cop and you would not believe the things cops do for thier own good and not the law.

 

[Gtown81]

He was doing his job, I know a reasonable police officer with a heart would've let them see their mother. It's not like if they got there in time she would've survived. Everyone is kind of overreacting, don't you think?

 

[.loggie]

not really greg
honestly, if your mother or mother-in-law was dying, wouldnt you want to see her before she passed away?

 

[Gtown81]

Yeah I would, and I'm not saying i'm glad they didn't and the cop was right, but he was doing his job.

The story seems very one sided IMO.

 

[MapleLeaf]

he was doing his job but was being totally insensitive and should have realized they were in an emergency. And he showed little compassion for a woman who was dying that needed help

 

[MapleLeaf]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgn<Censored>ZevpI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnQwCRt9qkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KALlDdP4TrQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmMJVTZ9PXk

 

[CP3_Melo]

What a <Censored>, why would he do something like that

 

[sheed]

Wow. That's ridiculous!

+1

 

[A.E]

I work with a ton of cops, past & present...believe me when I tell you that they are no different than your or me. Just because they wear an intimidating uniform and carry side-arms doesn't necessarily turn all of them into model citizens.

Now I'm not saying this b/c all Police are bad or anything...but dont be surprised that plenty of scumbags make into the force at every level.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

I have no problem with this at all. If he blew a red light, he blew a red light. Dont argue with the cop, keep it simple and get everything over with in a reasonable matter, no need to talk back to the guy doing his job.

 

[The Young One]

Stuff like this is why i cant stand the cops.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

I wanna be a cop, go 21 jump street style and hang out in high school, be the BAMF i never was, haha.

 

[A.E]

GMF is right though, the officer was just following procedure. I mean Moats did blow through a red light & was most likely speeding. The job of Police Officers is to keep the community safe & sound.

Imagine what would of happened if another car happened to be traveling through that intersection at the same time. I am sympathetic to the Moats' situation but just b/c 1 person is on their death bed doesn't give anyone the right to create a situation where more people could end up in the same place.

If I am the cop & I see an SUV blow through a red light like that...then the 2 people in the vehicle get out and start panicking like they did...I am most likely going to sit their asses down until they chill out & I can get control of the situation too.

 

[JoshHoward5]

Yeah I would, and I'm not saying i'm glad they didn't and the cop was right, but he was doing his job.

The story seems very one sided IMO.

I don't care if he was doing his job. Show some compassion. I mean running that red light could be the difference between seeing your mother/step-mother before she dies. Saying goodbye to someone that is dying is a pretty big deal.

But this just futures my view on Dallas Police being assholes.