Officer delays family racing to see dying mom

[Passacaglia]

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dw....6f8a23c1.html

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA-TV

Dallas PD
Ryan Motes' wife and other family members (right) leave the scene while a Dallas police Officer Robert Powell detains the NFL player outside the emergency room.


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DALLAS — Racing to see his dying mother-in-law at a Plano hospital, an NFL player found himself delayed by a Dallas officer after he was stopped in the emergency room parking lot.

With his wife and another woman in the car, Ryan Moats — a running back for the Houston Texans — sped his car toward the hospital early on March 17. But when Moats arrived at the parking lot, they were stopped by Officer Robert Powell.

Dashcam video from the Dallas officer's patrol car captured the incident.

"Get in there," Officer Powell yelled out to Tamishia Moats, Ryan's wife, as she exited the car. "Let me see your hands. Get in there. Put your hands on the car."

"Excuse me; my mom is dying," Moats said.

Tamishia Moats and the other woman ignored Officer Powell's commands and rushed inside the hospital to see her mother as Ryan Moats and Officer Powell went back-and-forth over insurance paperwork the NFL player was unable to locate.

MOATS: "I've got seconds before she's gone, man."

POWELL: "Listen: If I can't verify you have insurance..."

MOATS: "My mother-in-law is dying!"

POWELL: "Listen to me."

MOATS: "Right now, you're wasting my time."

POWELL: "If you can't verify you have insurance, I'm going to tow your car. So, you either find it or I am going to tow the car."

As they argued, the officer got irritated.

POWELL: "Shut your mouth. Shut your mouth. You can either settle down and cooperate, or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."


Dallas PD
The tape shows a nurse coming out of the hospital, pleading with Officer Powell to let Moats join his wife and her dying mother inside..
In a telephone interview, Moats said the clash with the officer was totally unexpected. "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," he said.

No compassion was indicated in the police recording of the incident. "I can screw you over," Officer Powell said. "I would rather not do that. You obviously will dictate everything that happens; and right now, your attitude sucks."

The hospital twice sent nurses to try and get the officer to release Moats.

"We're blue-coding her for the third time," a nurse said on the police videotape.

A Plano police officer stopped to make a plea for the officer to let Moats go. "Hey, that's the nurse," the Plano officer said. "She says the mom is dying right now, and she wants to know if I can get him up there."

Finally, after a 20-minute delay, the officer ticketed Moats for running a red light.

By the time Moats made it up to the emergency room, his mother-in-law was dead.

"I went up after she passed and held her hand, but she was already gone," Moats said in a telephone interview.

Dallas police have apologized to the Moats family, dropped the ticket, and launched a review of the incident.

“When it came to our attention, we immediately called for an internal investigation to be done,” said police spokesman Lt. Andy Havey.

E-mail [email protected]

[Mustang]

I'm sure police officers hear things like this all the time, but given that they were in the hospital parking lot, it should have been easy enough to verify the story and especially after the nurse came out.

After that you are no longer a police officer, you're just a uniformed douche bag.

[sterlingice]

Aside from being a little careless with his language (the "I can screw you over" line), I don't see what the officer did wrong. It's a really unfortunate situation and I really feel for them, but I don't see how this could have gone any differently. I would hope the officer would be sympathetic but if they ran a red light... I dunno- that really is putting them above public safety.

If I were Moats, I'd be pissed. But I think we're trying to view this through all lenses.

SI

[gstelmack]

And if they hadn't got out of the car and immediately raced into the hospital and instead had taken the time to explain to the officer UP FRONT (which the officer mentions later) there wouldn't have been an issue. How does the officer know they aren't running inside with a gun or something?

This was a misunderstanding on both sides as these things often are.

[JPhillips]

You have the license number. You can verify the license. It wouldn't be that hard to issue the ticket later due to these circumstances. This isn't a violent individual that could be a threat to public safety.

[DanGarion]

Officer was a dick, but regardless of why you are doing it, if you break the law and PUT OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES IN RISK you don't really deserve much empathy, especially since the officer doesn't know why or what they are doing.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

This isn't a violent individual that could be a threat to public safety.

Two people get out of the car and head for the hospital. How do you know what is going on at this point, and how can you take their word for it? Getting out of the car is like the cardinal sin of a traffic stop.

[JPhillips]

Because it says on the transcript a good part of the delay was making sure there was proof of insurance. I can understand an initial need to verify safety, but refusing to let Moates go because he can't provide proof of insurance is excessive douchebaggery.

[Mustang]

There is a big difference between an officer stopping someone to find out what is going on and delaying this entire process for 20 minutes even AFTER another officer makes a comment.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

And if they hadn't got out of the car and immediately raced into the hospital and instead had taken the time to explain to the officer UP FRONT (which the officer mentions later) there wouldn't have been an issue. How does the officer know they aren't running inside with a gun or something?

This was a misunderstanding on both sides as these things often are.

The wife and another woman ran inside (and the officer let them go), not Ryan Moats, who did try to explain the situation and how time sensitive it was. At that point, accompany him in then. Once a nurse comes out and verifies the story, the cop really has lost any sympathy from me (at least based on how things are worded in the article).

I understand that he's trying to uphold the law, but if (and yes that's a big if) Moats was being honest when he said he made sure it was safe before proceeding through the red light, then a lot more compassion should have been shown given the circumstances and location.

[larrymcg421]

Yeah, the problem isn't the initial detention. I don't think anyone is questioning that. The problem is the need to verify insurance when two nurses have come out to beg the officer to let the guy see his dying mother in law. At this point, the officer could have followed the guy to the ER and waited outside the room.

[JediKooter]

The cop was a dick, plain and simple. He continued to be a dick even after a nurse and a SECOND COP told him everything was true and to let him go see his mother in law.

The cop has my vote for Dick of the Year Award.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Yeah, the problem isn't the initial detention. I don't think anyone is questioning that. The problem is the need to verify insurance when two nurses have come out to beg the officer to let the guy see his dying mother in law. At this point, the officer could have followed the guy to the ER and waited outside the room.

Precisely my thoughts.

[Noop]

The officer was doing his job... I think his attitude sucked but he was doing his job.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Noop

The officer was doing his job... I think his attitude sucked but he was doing his job.

There's a difference between doing your job and abuse of power. The cop was on a power trip.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

There's a difference between doing your job and abuse of power. The cop was on a power trip.

Hey man I am more often then not on the side of the citizen. However in this case the man was doing his job albeit with a shitty attitude.

[Raiders Army]

I believe I read the ESPN spun article and it implied that there were racial overtones to the officer's attitude as well. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should.

A policeman's job is to ensure the public safety. He could have done that numerous ways other than what he did. Based upon the information in the article, I would say that at the minimum he didn't do his job properly and at the maximum he was definitely abusing his power.

[Eaglesfan27]

Based on the article, I agree that it is an abuse of power. I've actually seen officers come into the ED with a person because they were stopped for a traffic violation to confirm that they had a family member they were rushing to see. I don't see any reason this officer could not have confirmed the story with the hospital, once he quickly ascertained this guy wasn't carrying a weapon.

[Pyser]

i think the officer should be severely disciplined

[Young Drachma]

If he wasn't an NFL player, it wouldn't have made the news. That said, the cop was just being a jerk. He might not have been "in the wrong," but he was being a real asshole.

[Noop]

Is this a common practice to be with someone as they die? I know it was something practiced in England back in the day. I didn't know people still do that and to me at least that's a little morbid.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

I believe I read the ESPN spun article and it implied that there were racial overtones to the officer's attitude as well. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should.

A policeman's job is to ensure the public safety. He could have done that numerous ways other than what he did. Based upon the information in the article, I would say that at the minimum he didn't do his job properly and at the maximum he was definitely abusing his power.

Considering the history of these types of stories on the board, I'm surprised the race card wasn't already pulled...

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Noop

Is this a common practice to be with someone as they die? I know it was something practiced in England back in the day. I didn't know people still do that and to me at least that's a little morbid.

???

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Noop

Is this a common practice to be with someone as they die? I know it was something practiced in England back in the day. I didn't know people still do that and to me at least that's a little morbid.

From my perspective this is a 100% normal thing.

In fact, I have the exact same reaction to your statement as you do to Moats. Something along the lines of (and what I posted originally), "um, what?". To me it is a given that if it is at all possible, you are at the side of a dying loved one as they pass.

[Noop]

Like be by their side as they die.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Noop

Is this a common practice to be with someone as they die? I know it was something practiced in England back in the day. I didn't know people still do that and to me at least that's a little morbid.

Huh?

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Noop

Like be by their side as they die.

Yes? Are you saying if your wife or mother was dying you wouldn't want to be with them?

What?

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Noop

Like be by their side as they die.

I didn't know that there was anyone out there that wouldn't try to be at someone's side.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Yes? Are you saying if your wife or mother was dying you wouldn't want to be with them?

What?

Like everyone is in the room while the person dies? That creeps the hell out of me. I mean if its my parents I don't think I would be able to do it without crying like a little baby then having nightmares about the whole event for the next few months. I wouldn't want them to die alone or anything...man thinking about it makes me feel weird.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Noop

Like everyone is in the room while the person dies? That creeps the hell out of me. I mean if its parents I don't think I would be able to do it without crying like a little baby then having nightmares about the whole event for the next few months. I wouldn't want them to die alone or anything...man thinking about it makes me feel weird.

Crying can be good.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by Mustang

I didn't know that there was anyone out there that wouldn't try to be at someone's side.

I honestly thought that was something from back in the day.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Crying can be good.

It's not the crying it's the nightmares especially with my active mind.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Noop

It's not the crying more then nightmares especially with my active mind.

Yeah. I'm just not sure what to tell you because I'm on the completely opposite side of this - that I'd find it completely abnormal for someone NOT to want to be with a loved one (and we're talking parents, wife, children here) as they passed.

Nightmares seems extreme to me, but I can't speak for what your imagination does.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Yeah. I'm just not sure what to tell you because I'm on the completely opposite side of this - that I'd find it completely abnormal for someone NOT to want to be with a loved one (and we're talking parents, wife, children here) as they passed.

Nightmares seems extreme to me, but I can't speak for what your imagination does.

Like I said I did not know people still do that, I read about Emily Dickinson and learned people did that. I tend to avoid things about death and dead people because that stuff gives me nightmares. I get nightmares from going to funerals and seeing someone's body.

[Eaglesfan27]

Being by parents' bedside is very much the norm I believe, and I'm a bit surprised anyone would question that. Spouses sure as heck better be there as well to support their wife/husband even if they weren't particularly close to the in-law.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Noop

I honestly thought that was something from back in the day.

You get the strangest notions sometimes. Thing is, I'm genuinely having a hard time figuring out where you got this one.

edit to add: You mentioned reading about this & not knowing people still did it ... from that should I gather that your family/the people around you don't, or at least haven't in the past decade or so?

Now don't get me wrong, everybody has to deal with death in their own way and by & large that's their business but as astonished as I was that you thought this was out of the norm, I'm even more speechless that there's actually some pattern of not doing so in your life. In the absence of some conflict in the relationship or something of that nature I can't say I've ever run across anyone who would have thought this odd. To think there's a group of people in the same orbit who would think so just blows my mind completely.

[Eaglesfan27]

Not a dola -

When my mother had her heart attack and we thought she might die, I remember my wife driving me to the hospital and I'm fairly sure she was at least 20 mph over the speed limit the whole way there.

[Kodos]

And don't you think the dying person might like to have their loved ones there to comfort them as they die?

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Noop

Like I said I did not know people still do that, I read about Emily Dickinson and learned people did that. I tend to avoid things about death and dead people because that stuff gives me nightmares. I get nightmares from going to funerals and seeing someone's body.

Maybe it would help if you would understand it from the dying individual point of view. Being with someone when they die is for them instead of for you. I would think that regardless of having nightmares, anyone would want to comfort someone else as they pass from this life...especially someone they love.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You get the strangest notions sometimes. Thing is, I'm genuinely having a hard time figuring out where you got this one.

Just as strange as it is to you, it is/was strange to me people participate in it. I have never heard of that being done in contemporary times never. I am not judging anyone who does it, in fact I can see why people would want to. However before reading this article it never occurred to me that people did this and considering I recently began studying Emily Dickinson I thought that was something practiced in England way back when.

It maybe more prevalent where you live or grew up but not for me.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Noop

My be more prevalent where you live or grew up but not for me.

Where did you grow up? Mars???

[Noop]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Where did you grow up? Mars???

Apparently.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Noop

Is this a common practice to be with someone as they die? I know it was something practiced in England back in the day. I didn't know people still do that and to me at least that's a little morbid.

I don't know if the thing is to be with someone "as they die" but the motivation is probably to see them alive one more time -- even if the signs of life aren't visible. I'm guessing that people feel better knowing that their loved ones weren't alone when they died.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Noop

Just as strange as it is to you, it is/was strange to me people participate in it. I have never heard of that being done in contemporary times never. I am not judging anyone who does it, in fact I can see why people would want to. However before reading this article it never occurred to me that people did this and considering I recently began studying Emily Dickinson I thought that was something practiced in England way back when.

It maybe more prevalent where you live or grew up but not for me.

I really don't think it's a location thing. It's the same way here in the Philippines.

I'd gander to say that it's the same all around the world.

[Raiders Army]

Going back to the story, I watched most of the unedited dashcam video that the article links to. I gotta say it's pretty bad and the cop definitely pulled a power trip.

Edit--I really have to say that reading the words that were said really takes away from what happened. If you watch the video, I don't see how there's any way you can side with the cop.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Maybe it would help if you would understand it from the dying individual point of view. Being with someone when they die is for them instead of for you. I would think that regardless of having nightmares, anyone would want to comfort someone else as they pass from this life...especially someone they love.

Yeah, the thought of a loved one dying alone gives me nightmares more than being with them as they die. Also, sometimes it's hard to let go of someone, so you want to spend every last possible moment you can with them.

[Huckleberry]

1. Noop, that is wild.

2. The cop was a complete asshat. More information:

NFL player pulled over outside hospital while rushing to be with dying relative

06:39 AM CDT on Thursday, March 26, 2009

By STEVE THOMPSON and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

As he rushed his family to the hospital, 26-year-old NFL running back Ryan Moats rolled through a red light. A Dallas police officer pulled their SUV over outside the emergency room.

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!"

The officer, 25-year-old Robert Powell, was unmoved. He spent long minutes writing Moats a ticket and threatened him with arrest.

"I can screw you over," the officer told Moats. "I'd rather not do that."

The scene last week, captured by a dashboard video camera, prompted apologies and the promise of an investigation from Dallas police officials Wednesday.

"There were some things that were said that were disturbing, to say the least," said Lt. Andy Harvey, a police spokesman.

Moats' mother-in-law, Jonetta Collinsworth, was struggling at 45 with breast cancer that had spread throughout her body. Family members rushed to her bedside from as far away as California.

On March 17, the night of their incident with Powell, the Moatses had gone to their Frisco home to get some rest. Around midnight, they received word that they needed to hurry back to the hospital if they wanted to see Collinsworth before she died.

The couple, along with Collinsworth's father and an aunt, jumped into the SUV and headed back toward Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. They exited the Dallas North Tollway at Preston Road, just down the street from the hospital.

Moats turned on his hazard lights. He stopped at a red light, where, he said, the only nearby motorist signaled for him to go ahead. He went through.

Powell, watching traffic from a hidden spot, flipped on his lights and sirens. In less than a minute, he caught up to the SUV and followed for about 20 more seconds as Moats found a parking spot outside the emergency room.

Moats' wife, 27-year-old Tamishia, was the first out. Powell yelled at her to get back in.

"Get in there!" he yelled. "Let me see your hands!"

"My mom is dying," she explained.

Powell was undeterred.

"I saw in his eyes that he really did not care," Tamishia Moats said Wednesday.

Tamishia Moats and her great-aunt ignored the officer and headed into the hospital. Ryan Moats stayed behind with the father of the dying woman.

"I waited until no traffic was coming," Moats told Powell, explaining his passage through the red light. "I got seconds before she's gone, man."

Powell demanded his license and proof of insurance. Moats produced his license but said he didn't know where the insurance paperwork was.

"Just give me a ticket or whatever," he said, beginning to sound exasperated and a little argumentative.

"Shut your mouth," Powell told him. "You can cooperate and settle down, or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."

There was more back and forth.

"If you're going to give me a ticket, give me a ticket."

"Your attitude says that you need one."

"All I'm asking you is just to hurry up."

Powell began a lecture.

"If you want to keep this going, I'll just put you in handcuffs," the officer said, "and I'll take you to jail for running a red light."

Powell made several more points, including that the SUV was illegally parked. Moats replied "Yes sir" to each.

"Understand what I can do," Powell concluded. "I can tow your truck. I can charge you with fleeing. I can make your night very difficult."

"I understand," Moats responded. "I hope you'll be a great person and not do that."

Hospital security guards arrived and told Powell that the Moatses' relative really was upstairs dying.

Powell spent several minutes inside his squad car, in part to check Moats for outstanding warrants. He found none.

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.

The Moatses, who are black, said Wednesday that 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 who attended Bishop Lynch High School and now plays for the Houston Texans.

Powell, hired in January 2006, did not return a call for comment. Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson said Powell told police officials that he believed that he was doing his job. He has been re-assigned to dispatch pending an investigation.

"When people are in distress, we should come to the rescue," said Simpson. "We shouldn't further their distress."

Collinsworth was buried Saturday in Louisiana.

Rebecca Lopez of WFAA-TV contributed to this report.

[SackAttack]

Ticket the guy, tow the car if you're really afraid he's going to dodge it, whatever, but "I can screw you over" when the guy is saying "look, my mother is dying, can we do this in a little bit"?

I'm not sure that's worth firing, but it IS worth a nice long unpaid vacation. Part of being a police officer is being part of the community. Saying "I can screw you over" to part of the community you're supposed to be representing/defending is, IMO, unacceptable. Can't stop you from thinking it, but the minute you cross the line to saying it, you're not fit to wear the badge.

You either need, as I said, a nice, long unpaid vacation to reflect on the best way to remove your head from your ass, or you need a new line of work. Simple. You're there to protect and serve, not to "screw [someone] over."

[larrymcg421]

If it's true that he had his hazard lights on, then the officer should be out of a job. He seems a bit unstable.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

Powell spent several minutes inside his squad car, in part to check Moats for outstanding warrants. He found none.

Maybe I've just lived a sheltered life, but that's the first time I've ever looked at the action of a police officer and gone "...gotta be racial." I mean, are you kidding me? You pull the guy over for running a red light, you read him the riot act on all the ways you can screw him over, hospital security comes out to say "look, he's legit," and you're STILL detaining him to search for arrest warrants?