WTF Stories of the Week - Page 136

Disneyphile · 03-26-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

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.

All traits of irrationality.

When faced with that kind of emergency/shock/grief, would you stay calm and do as you're told?

Have you been in that kind of situation?

I probably would have flat-out punched a cop at the time my mom was in hospice. I wouldn't have even noticed I was doing it.

And, I would have probably been condemned by people, because in our society, open grief is considered inappropriate, rather than a call for compassion, patience, and understanding.

Gemini Cricket · 03-27-2009, 01:41 PM

Moats was at fault for the following reasons:

A cop is trying to pull you over, you pull over. If he had stopped right away, he could have told the cop that he had a medical emergency and (depending on the convsersation) might have been cool with the cop. But after a couple of violations, the suspicions run high and the cop is not going to listen. The cop amped up and is thinking: druggie, drunk person, gang banger fleeing from a situation...

Moats could have caused someone else to lose a loved one by driving recklessly. His family is not more important than someone else's.

Moats telling the cop to go look for his insurance and take it out of the envelope or whatever he had it in, is not cool.

-----

Powell is at fault for the following reasons:

Once the nurse from the hospital had confirmed the Moats' story, he should have allowed Moats to go inside. He had Moats waiting until he wrote the ticket out, he could have left it on the windshield.

Powell showed a lack of understanding of this special situation. Yes, he may have heard people saying stuff like this and it turned out to be complete bunk, but you can't automatically act that everyone is lying about what they are doing.

It feels like once Powell got control of the situation and had Moats by the car, he let his position as an officer go to his head. Both men were cocky, but telling someone they could make their lives more difficult just because you can, is also not cool.

Powell is still not apologizing for the incident. I think he should.

-------

No one has Powell's back on this one. The police union, fellow police officers, the police chief... I agree with them and think Powell handled this incident poorly.

(I sent the video to my lil sis and father (both cops) to see what their takes on this situation are.)

Kevy Baby · 03-27-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I can never decide whether to play the jew card or the gay card.

Such a quandry.

Can you call it the Gew card?

Ghoulish Delight · 03-27-2009, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

(I sent the video to my lil sis and father (both cops) to see what their takes on this situation are.)

While we're on that subject, it's a good thing you never wanted to get into the family business - Cop fired for losing sense of smell

Gemini Cricket · 03-27-2009, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

While we're on that subject, it's a good thing you never wanted to get into the family business - Cop fired for losing sense of smell

That stinks. But how would I know?

Alex · 03-26-2009, 02:34 PM

My understanding is that is pretty much standard procedure that no matter how nicely you do it, if when pulled over you get out of the car without being told to, you're going to get to see more of the gun.

Haven't seen the video. But if the driver was acting angry and irrational I'd say that is a very good argument for the cop to slow him down no matter what the cause. He's obviously not in an emotional place appropriate for driving.

As sucky as it is, having a dying relative in a hospital is not just reason (especially since it is probably true one time out of the 100 times a police officer hears it) for risking the deaths of other people driving erratically to get there.

I had a friend in high school who's dad was a patrolman. He once said to me that traffic stops were pretty much the scariest thing he did. Because the rest of the time when things went awry it was usually in a situation where you had some reason to expect it. Since 99.9% of traffic stops were hassle free, that 0.1% had a way of just completely sneaking up on you.

Ghoulish Delight · 03-26-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

Haven't seen the video. But if the driver was acting angry and irrational I'd say that is a very good argument for the cop to slow him down no matter what the cause. He's obviously not in an emotional place appropriate for driving.

Well, he didn't bother to stop and get out of the car until he'd reached the hospital parking lot, so it wasn't a matter of letting him get back in the car to drive more. It was just about finishing up the ticket-writing process and letting him into the building. So in that sense, once it was clear that, while he was agitated and upset but clearly not threatening, an argument COULD be made that the officer inappropriately delayed the ticket writing. However from what I see in the video, Moats did nothing to help himself by continuing to ignore instructions and argue.

innerSpaceman · 03-26-2009, 03:02 PM

I blame the Canadians.

Ghoulish Delight · 03-26-2009, 03:10 PM

Well, duh, of course it's Canada's fault. But that goes without saying.

katiesue · 03-26-2009, 03:12 PM

Nothing wrong with being grief stricken. But if you're so upset you can't think rationally, then you shouldn't be driving a car. Would it be ok if he had slammed into another car while running the red light instead of just being pulled over?

03-27-2009, 01:41 PM	#2
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	Moats was at fault for the following reasons: A cop is trying to pull you over, you pull over. If he had stopped right away, he could have told the cop that he had a medical emergency and (depending on the convsersation) might have been cool with the cop. But after a couple of violations, the suspicions run high and the cop is not going to listen. The cop amped up and is thinking: druggie, drunk person, gang banger fleeing from a situation... Moats could have caused someone else to lose a loved one by driving recklessly. His family is not more important than someone else's. Moats telling the cop to go look for his insurance and take it out of the envelope or whatever he had it in, is not cool. ----- Powell is at fault for the following reasons: Once the nurse from the hospital had confirmed the Moats' story, he should have allowed Moats to go inside. He had Moats waiting until he wrote the ticket out, he could have left it on the windshield. Powell showed a lack of understanding of this special situation. Yes, he may have heard people saying stuff like this and it turned out to be complete bunk, but you can't automatically act that everyone is lying about what they are doing. It feels like once Powell got control of the situation and had Moats by the car, he let his position as an officer go to his head. Both men were cocky, but telling someone they could make their lives more difficult just because you can, is also not cool. Powell is still not apologizing for the incident. I think he should. ------- No one has Powell's back on this one. The police union, fellow police officers, the police chief... I agree with them and think Powell handled this incident poorly. (I sent the video to my lil sis and father (both cops) to see what their takes on this situation are.)
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03-26-2009, 02:34 PM	#6
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	My understanding is that is pretty much standard procedure that no matter how nicely you do it, if when pulled over you get out of the car without being told to, you're going to get to see more of the gun. Haven't seen the video. But if the driver was acting angry and irrational I'd say that is a very good argument for the cop to slow him down no matter what the cause. He's obviously not in an emotional place appropriate for driving. As sucky as it is, having a dying relative in a hospital is not just reason (especially since it is probably true one time out of the 100 times a police officer hears it) for risking the deaths of other people driving erratically to get there. I had a friend in high school who's dad was a patrolman. He once said to me that traffic stops were pretty much the scariest thing he did. Because the rest of the time when things went awry it was usually in a situation where you had some reason to expect it. Since 99.9% of traffic stops were hassle free, that 0.1% had a way of just completely sneaking up on you.
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03-26-2009, 03:02 PM	#8
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	I blame the Canadians.
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03-26-2009, 03:10 PM	#9
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Well, duh, of course it's Canada's fault. But that goes without saying. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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03-26-2009, 03:12 PM	#10
katiesue Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 4,678	Nothing wrong with being grief stricken. But if you're so upset you can't think rationally, then you shouldn't be driving a car. Would it be ok if he had slammed into another car while running the red light instead of just being pulled over? __________________ My life is so exciting I can hardly stand it.
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