WTF Stories of the Week

[Snowflake]

Um, I think this policeman needs some therapy and to be relieved of his job. Obviously the motto there is not "To Protect and to Serve"

Officer drew gun during traffic stop of NFL player outside hospital

The Dallas Police Department confirmed Thursday that an officer drew a gun on NFL running back Ryan Moats and his wife after he stopped them to give them a ticket even as they begged to hurry to the bedside of their dying mother.

As he rushed his family to the hospital, Ryan Moats, 26, rolled through a red light. A Dallas police officer pulled their SUV over outside the emergency room at the Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.

“He was pointing a gun at me as soon as I got out of the car,” said his wife, Tamishia Moats. “It was the weirdest feeling because I’ve never had a gun pointed at me before under those circumstances.”

Seconds later, Ryan Moats and his wife explained that her mother was dying inside the hospital.

“You really want to go through this right now?” Moats pleaded. “My mother-in-law is dying. Right now!”

A Dallas police spokesman said that Officer Robert Powell told his commanders that he drew his gun, but did not point it. Lt. Andy Harvey said it is not unusual for officers to draw a gun without pointing it. Drawing a gun is not unusual in traffic stops where officers feel threatened.

Powell, 25, spent long minutes writing Moats a ticket and threatened him with arrest during the incident.

“I can screw you over,” the officer told Moats. “I’d rather not do that.”

Another hospital staffer came out and spoke with a Plano police officer who had arrived.

“Hey, that’s the nurse,” the Plano officer told Powell. “She said that the mom’s dying right now, and she’s wanting to know if they can get him up there before she dies.”

“All right,” Powell replied. “I’m almost done.”

As Moats signed the ticket, Powell continued his lecture.

“Attitude’s everything,” he said. “All you had to do is stop, tell me what was going on. More than likely, I would have let you go.”

It had been about 13 minutes.

Moats and Collinsworth’s father went into the hospital, where they found Collinsworth had died, with her daughter at her side.

Full article here

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

Um, I think this policeman needs some therapy and to be relieved of his job. Obviously the motto there is not "To Protect and to Serve"

I hope he's repaid the same courtesy when he loses a loved one.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I hope he's repaid the same courtesy when he loses a loved one.

I'd like to see the dashboard footage of this stop and have independent verification as to the time of the stop and his mothers passing before passing judgement.

I've meet a few NFL'ers in my time.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I just watched the video. A) You can't see the officer for most of it, but at no point does Moats react as if he has a gun pointed at him. B) His wife (whose mother it was) went immediately inside, so if it was possible to arrive on time to see her mother pass, she made it. C) At no point did Moats even attempt to cooperate with the officer, it was instant screaming and confrontation.

From what I could tell in the video, the officer handled it like he'd handle any stop. Cooperate and it will be done quickly, argue with me from moment one and forget it.

[Moonliner]

After catching up with someone who refuses to stop, I expect it's fairly standard to approach with caution (ie gun drawn).

[Ghoulish Delight]

Especially when they then jump out of the car screaming at you.

[Disneyphile]

I think someone who is in shock over someone dying is not exactly going to be thinking calmly enough to "react appropriately" to a police officer. Shock and grief can completely override and cloud rational thought.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I think someone who is in shock over someone dying is not exactly going to be thinking calmly enough to "react appropriately" to a police officer. Shock and grief can completely override and cloud rational thought.

That may be the case. But as a police office, you don't have the luxury of determining who is being irrational for the right reasons and who is being irrational for the wrong reasons. If someone is acting like that, your training is, rightly, to be cautious and take control of the situation. It's unfortunate for the family, but then maybe they should have been obeying traffic laws.

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

That may be the case. But as a police office, you don't have the luxury of determining who is being irrational for the right reasons and who is being irrational for the wrong reasons. If someone is acting like that, your training is, rightly, to be cautious and take control of the situation. It's unfortunate for the family, but then maybe they should have been obeying traffic laws.

I have no problem with him pulling the gun for caution, but to waste time on a lecture, etc. after he was informed about the situation was uncalled for. If he didn't believe him, he could have followed them into the hospital and witnessed it himself.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I have no problem with him pulling the gun for caution, but to waste time on a lecture, etc. after he was informed about the situation was uncalled for. If he didn't believe him, he could have followed them into the hospital and witnessed it himself.

Have you watched the video? The one who was wasting time was Moats, who instead of, say, handing the office ID when asked, kept arguing. If he had simply followed the officer's instructions, it would have been over in a couple minutes, and I bet if he had said, "Could you make it quick," while handing over his ID as asked the officer would have done exactly that. But if you are going to refuse to cooperate at every step, then under what obligation is the officer to cooperate with you? There is nothing in that video that gives me sympathy for Moats. He is angry, aggressive, argumentative, and rude through the entire thing, when all he needed to do was listen to what he was being told instructed to do.