Unsympathetic cop kept Moats from dying relative

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by NewsGrabber, Mar 26, 2009.

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  1. SuperVince

    SuperVince Camp Fodder

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    I know im a noob here, but how many of you have actually seen what goes on inside of a police car during a traffic stop. 14 minutes is considered a normal stop under ANY circumstances. You run the driver and his passengers for warrants in state and out of state. Run their criminal history for prior run-ins, run the dl of the driver to see if it is valid, and thats NOT including the time it takes to write a ticket. That is a prototypical stop. There is no such thing as a "low risk " traffic stop, only high risk and unknown risk. The officer was harsh but whats to say Moats isn't going pacman with a firearm in his side?
     
  2. HornedToad10

    HornedToad10 Camp Fodder

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    The fact that he's at the entrance of the emergency room of a hospital?

    The fact that 3 separate times people come out of the hospital and say that the Mother-In-Law is really dying?

    The fact that the Dallas chief of police said they reviewed the videos and were embarassed by it and the officer clearly used bad judgement?

    The fact that a nurse and a hospital guard come out and tell the officer that the mother is truly dying right now and he says "Ok, I'm almost done" and still takes 3-3.5minutes to wrap up and give Moats a lecture?

    I'm assuming you didn't bother to read the article...
     
  3. SuperVince

    SuperVince Camp Fodder

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    Im assuming you've never made a traffic stop..... Without question the officer could have made better decisions but were any of those people there before the stop was made? Yeah I agree there was a MUCH better way to handle it but Officers get lied to EVERY DAY they go to work, every call they go to or initiate is essentially the worst day of that persons year or possibly their life. Not everyone that goes to the hospital is on their death bed but once he figured out the truth he could have been more tact about it. As i stated previously the three and half minutes after that isn't exactly the officer procrastinating
     
  4. HornedToad10

    HornedToad10 Camp Fodder

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    No I've never made a traffic stop. And I think it's perfectly fine that the officer stopped them and he could have even written a ticket if he thought it was justified. But they are in front of the emergency entrance to a hospital and 3 times nurses come out to tell the cop that yes, the mother-in-law is really dying! Three Times!!! At worst, tell them to go on up and he'll leave the ticket on the car.

    I'm not contesting the stop. I'm contesting what happens after the stop as they are parked in front of the emergency entrance of the hospital and he finds out that the mother is on her deathbed.
     
  5. SuperVince

    SuperVince Camp Fodder

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    Valid point and thats completely understood. He definitely screwed the pooch in the PR part of the stop but to call for his job without the totality of the circumstances is a bit much. Punish the guy to the fullest extent but the last thing anyone should be clamoring for is another lost job in this economy.
     
  6. Alex1939

    Alex1939 Space Invaders Champion

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    I'm amazed you have this point of view.

    Having personally been in a situation of getting to a hospital under similar circumstances, I have huge amounts of sympathy for Moats. I certainly understand, not only that, AGREE with his wife's behavior. If it was me, that cop could chase me through the hospital, but I would not stop for something this bogus. It would be a flat out brawl to stop me.

    I hope you never go through something similar, but imagine if you do your opinion will change.
     
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  7. NewsGrabber

    NewsGrabber Guest

    Cop held Texans' Moats as relative died (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.

    More...
     
  8. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

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    Um...

    It's not like the Police car was right behind him til he got into the parking area of the hospital.

    If you pull up to a hospital and a passenger gets out...obviously distressed and says her mother is just about to die, you don't freak out when she doesn't listen to you. You don't berate the guy driving the car because he went through a light and didn't stop as quickly as you'd have liked. I'm pretty sure the job description for a police officer is to protect and lecture, but to protect and serve.

    Honestly, I don't think I would have been as calm as Moats. Sure he was upset when he exited the vehicle. Obviously the cop didn't understand why a civillian would go through a red light in order to make it to his mother in laws bedside before she died. More importantly, after Moats composed himself and did what the cop wanted (to control himself) responding with yes sir...the cop kept going for minutes trying to continue the argument. Considering their were 2 security guards, the cop could have easily sent one in to verify the story and at that point let him go see her before she died.

    It is at this point that what the cop did is an embarassment and cost that family a lot of pain and suffering. Even after the nurse comes out and says she's on her 3rd code...instead of saying get up there, I'll leave this for you...he continues to lecture him! Unbelieveable!

    I have friends who are cops who will cringe that this officer...when he knew the facts and everyone had calmed down...didn't do the right thing.

    Gut
     
  9. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

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    Hey...

    Welcome to the board!

    Not that I've gotten a ton of tickets, but I've never had a cop run any passenger I've had. Maybe I don't look like a criminal???

    The point is that once everyone was calmed down and the cop KNEW what the facts were, he could have let Moats go see her before she died. He wanted to play hardball and teach him a lesson. He did...some people should not be cops!

    I do not know what goes on inside a police car during stops, but I know that NO stop is routine.

    Gut
     
  10. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

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    The key is...

    It's not that he COULD have had more tact...he SHOULD have. And the 3 and a half minutes while he's writing him a ticket...can't he let Moats go up and see her? I'm sure there was at least a few ways Moats could have gotten to see her before she died and the cop could have gotten him the ticket.

    But he made Moats WAIT during that time...which is the problem. And in the end lecture, he tells Moats if he had just stopped earlier and explained what was going on, they could have checked him quick and let him on his way. WHY didn't the cop check him 'quick' then...to teach him a lesson.

    I've had cops lecture me on occasion, but never during an emergency. I have great respect for officers and what they do. But they need to do the right thing...especially in an emergency situation.

    Gut
     
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