NFL Player's Mother-In-Law Dies In Hospital While He's Detained By Officer in Parking Lot

[Da Boss DJ Jo Corleone]

By now you’ve seen the footage or at least heard about the incident that took place in Dallas Texas, involving the Dallas police department and Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats. If you can, then visit this link on espn.com http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4017382, but if you’re unable to,
then here is a review.

Moats, was rushing to the hospital along with his wife, and some other relatives to visit his dying mother-in-law. And by dying, that literally means she was breathing her last few breaths. Along the way to the hospital Moats ran a red light and was detained by officer Robert Powell in the parking lot of the hospital. Moats’s wife was trying to rush in to see her mother, but the officer ordered her to stop and put her hands on the car. She ignored the officer and ran inside to be with her mother. Moat’s however was held up.

Moats tried to explain to the officer that his mother-in-law was inside dying, but Powell simply ignored his plea and threatened to impound his car if he didn’t show proof of insurance, he also threatened to take Powell to jail for running the red light, and even drew his gun at one point. All the while Moats continued to plea his case, but the officer continued to show no compassion for the family’s emergency.

The hospital sent nurses outside twice to come to the aide of moats explaining to the officer the severity of the situation, but they too were ignored. Then another officer stepped in and tried to plea with Powell to let moats go to be with his family. Powell simply replied “Alright I’m almost done.” After twenty minutes Powell wrote Moats a ticket anyway. Moats then ran to be with his mother in law, but it was too late she had already passed.

The Dallas police chief has since apologized for the incident on behalf of the department and also had the citation dropped. Powell has been placed on administrative leave, and has made a public apology to Moats’s family himself stating, "I wish to publicly and sincerely apologize to the Moats family, my colleagues in the Dallas Police Department, and to all those who have been rightfully angered by my actions ... After stopping Mr. Moats' vehicle, I showed poor judgment and insensitivity to Mr. Moats and his family by my words and actions."

This however comes after he pleaded to his superiors that he felt that he was doing his job. If that’s the case then it doesn’t seem like he’s truly sorry. It sounds like he apologized because he was told to.

Many feel he should have been fired, including moats, but he later backed off of the comment. "All I know is what he did was wrong," Moats said. "He stole a moment away from me that I can never get back. I'm really not the judge on what should happen to him."

There are so many things wrong with this incident on so many levels that it’s hard to pin point just one, so I’ll leave you with this. This is another example of people using their power of authority to treat people any way they see fit. In a few months no one will remember Powell’s name, but they will remember that a police officer in Dallas treated a citizen, that he’s paid to protect and serve, in such a manner.

This type of treatment is nothing new to the community, and it’s really a shame that this type of treatment goes on. It’s also unfortunate for the good police officers in the world, because this incident is a reflection of the entire police force, and it gives them a bad name. The average citizen can’t tell the good cops from the bad cops, which makes every traffic stop, a scary situation for people.

And though the apology was better than nothing being said at all, there comes a point when the apologies just get old. At some point in time police departments across the nation need to really take a look at some of the people they’re giving guns and badges to. From the incident in Washington where the teenage girl was beaten by officers, to the young man in California who was handcuffed and then shot in the back by an officer. More than an investigation, and suspension needs to happen to the officers who abuse their power.