Police Stop NFL Player Racing to Loved One’s Deathbed

This officer needs to find another line of work. One where his judgement (or lack thereof) is not critical to the job.
cw

Unfortunately we don’t pay police officers to think, just follow the rules and react. I don’t work for the police, but I know where I work some of the stupidest questions get bumped up the administrative chain just because some front line worker doesn’t have any common sense. How many times have you gone round and round trying to straighten something out on the telephone then asked to talk to a supervisor and resolved the problem in a couple minutes? Lack of teaching of critical thinking is part of why we’re losing ground in the global economy.

The officer did do his duty, until the moment he became abusive toward Tanisha Moats. The “Put up your hands” is clearly a comment motivated by racism, as this request is completely inappropriate to a traffic violation. I hope he will be charged with something to deter other policemen from this kind of unthinking, matter-of-course racism.

There are some things the article here left out. The police officer had him stopped at the hospital. A nurse came out a few times to tell the officer the guys’ mother-in-law was coding again and that he needed to get in there. A Plano police officer also tried to reason with the officer to let the guy go.

My mother and stepfather were vacationing in a RV outside Yuma when she had a heart attack early one morning. My stepfather got her into their car and raced for the hospital. He was pulled over 5 blocks from the hospital and she died while he was trying to get the officer to understand the problem. The officer was sorry for his loss.

“Unfortunately we don’t pay police officers to think”
that reminds me of the police trainee in Connecticut that was removed from the force because he scored too high on an IQ exam. Seems they want them dumb so that they don’t get bored with the job.
The judge ruled that a Mr. Jordan was not denied equal protection because the city of New London applied the same standard to everyone: anyone who scored too high was rejected.

I agree with most of you. The police officer was not using his best judgement! He could have escorted them and then figured out if the story was viable.

It is a tough decision to figure out if a person is telling the truth or lying. The cop has the right to detain anyone. The story did not say what the demeanor or language of the player.
We are critical of these officers if they give clemency to a killer or a bank robber go without running a check on them.

it is incidents like this that make a lot of people mistrust ALL cops. sad but true

The cop overreacted, made the situation worse with his “shut up…” and jail comments. Yes the law was broken. This was definitely one of those “extenuating circumstances” cases…Typical neanderthal…

One word- UNBELIEVABLE! This cop is a complete idot. This man had one chance to say goodbye to his mother in law-ONE LAST CHANCE-FOREVER!!!! And the fact that this idiot still accepts no fault! UNBELIEVABLE!

i love cops. i always have, never had any negative run-ins (well once, but that was a trainee, not a real cop). I think he acted appropriately – if this guy wasn’t an NFL player would this even be in the news?

“i can screw you over, i’d rather not do that…” thats exactly what he did

Ok, the mother is dying. So in everyone’s mind its ok to run a few red lights, speed, and fail to comply with a lawful order to stop. So how many here would still think its ok if he t-boned some innocent person or ran over someone crossing the street. There’s no excuse for wrecklessness. Yea, that makes sense; kill a few to say goodbye to one. And now its racism if you order a women to put her hands up if she is black. This is crap. It is a terrible thing to loose a loved one but they had no business putting the rest of the community at danger. Also, acting crazy and upset is their fault.

I dated a cop from a neighboring city. One night he ran a red light, was speeding and was drunk. We got pulled over. All he did was roll down the window, show the officer his badge and the officer waived him on. Not a word was spoken. Yes, cops do have a different set of rules.

You guys are nothing but a bunch of armchair quarterbacks.

Most people only speed and run red lights and then pull into a hospital if something is wrong. If he was just out joy riding, he could have pulled in anywhere. He pulled into a hospital for pete sake.
The officer used horrendous judgement and prevented him from being able to say good bye to a loved one. Something that cannot be undone.

The police use to be hero’s where have all the good guys gone. We hear stories over and over. These are people with a license to kill and far too many abuse it.
There was a time I was proud to say my best friends are cops – but no more – Every time they kill some one any one the same statement comes, we all know it “he was reaching for his belt,I was in fear of losing my life” And the dead man had no gun but that doesn’t matter – not today -
Who ever trains these cops are all the same “its us against the world” .
Now I know there are some super police officers – but they are now the exception, no longer the rule.
In the past police officer protected you BUT NOT TODAY now they always come after the fact “ALWAYS AFTER” – NEVER BEFORE.
They use the excuse that there is not enough police officers – i AGREE – but they do nothing with what they have. Kids die every week because of gangs and we know who they are – where they live -BUT we do nothing -
We need to change there name from police to crowed control officers or if it keeps going in the direction it is LETS call them our gang.

The story doesn’t tell you the police officer told the man that “I can screw you if your attitude doesn’t improve” or that a hospital nurse came outside to tell the police officer the mother-n-law was coding for a third time as well as another police officer who came to assist on the call also asked the police officer to relent and let the man go see his mother-n-law. This is all caught on the police officers car dash cam.
Often times police officers don’t get a second chance at making critical decison’s but upon the hospital nurse coming out to vouch for the man and another police officer requesting he relent and yet this insensitive donkey continued to pursue relentlessly. No apology in the world can console this NFL player or his family for the police officer’s brash behaviour. The police officer needs to be suspended w/o pay and take some refresher training classes.

I for one do not fault this officer. The time of night, the running of the red light and the intense yelling behavior by the NFL guy, these are all things that cops are taught to look at. We don’t know if the guy stopped at the red light, and I for one want my police to be clear and defined in enforcing things that can endanger others. I believe that a mere 13 minutes later that guy was at the hospital. The cop did not overly delay this, he was just careful. Thank god he was. The NFL player has extra rights, just like all the rest of the sports brats. They are special in our society when they should not be. Then to add insult, the guy we employ to protect us is turned to desk duty for doing his job. There is something wrong with our society.

Law enforcement personnel are not capable or expected to be capable of reading minds and assessing the veracity of a motorist’s claims of having a good reason to violate a traffic code. The officers have a tough job to do and anyone displaying a knee jerk reaction of hatred to a peace officer are blind to the fact that the
performance of that duty sometimes conflicts with what we wish could be with what is. Death happens. Everyday.
Maybe if people showed their love for each other everyday some would not have to race to the hospital for a few last words that the patient can’t hear anyway.

He’s an idiot. They ended in the hospital parking lot. It’s obvious that it was an emergency. Can we say ABUSE of AUTHORITY. That’s the problem with officers and the African-American Community.

Cops are “public nuisances”? How stupid and ignorant those of you are who actually voice those opinions. Law enforcement officers across the country make countless traffic stops daily, and each time, are potentially encountering a danger. Sure, the police officer in this case didn’t use proper discretion. But that’s the thing about DISCRETION: it’s up to the officer to exercise it. He overstepped, I agree. But those “cop haters” out there–it’s pretty obvious that those of you who have a reason to dislike the police, i.e., you yourself are breaking the law. You all hate police until you actually need them. Become a law-abiding citizen and see if your opinion changes of the police.

And Cynda P: Cops do NOT have a different set of rules. Maybe in your little town. My fiance is an officer in DC, and I have been with him when he has gotten a ticket. I can’t believe how ignorant our nation has become to those who serve.

Just saw the video. I hate using the race card but this officer was a complete jerk. Nurses came down, other cops were pleading with this officer but to no avail. This cop at the very least should be suspended without pay for one week.

Most cops are good people. But like the rest of society there are a few bad apples that give cops a bad name. Maybe because the media only highlights cops when something negative happens? Imagine no cops during 9/11…most cops are decent people.

I saw the tape. Clearly, the cops response was an overreaction. No compassion what’s so ever. Instead, he delayed the driver to lecture and ticket him despite the urgent need to get in the hospital to see a dying family member. What a shame. I wonder why the cop behave in such a manner???

The way he was acting, I’m surprise that he didn’t shoot the wife when she didn’t follow HIS INSTRUCTIONS. I guess we should be grateful for that.

THATS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY OF OURS. NO RESPECT FOR THE LAW. MAYBE ONE DAY ALL OF THE POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD JUST STOP PROTECTING US FROM ALL THAT ARE BREAKING THE LAW. THEN WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE TO SAY????

The officier’ behavior is inexcusable.
I would like to believe the word “dying” would of prompted compassion. The main ran a red light, he wasn’t in the act of a violent crime. The officier should of followed him to the hospital if he was so concerned. I am a New Yorker and I am confidant you would NEVER see a New York police officier, ever act as insensitive or cruel. SHAME ON HIM!

I don’t know if racism played a part in this or not and no one on here does either. I think the officer was out of line but why does a conflict between two people who have different skin color always have to escalate to racism? We’ll always have racism if we always jump to that conclusion.

Empty road.

I hate to say it, but this also could be another instance of “Driving While Black” which is a problem in many departments around the country. And contrary to government positions on the issue, it happens more than you know. I am white, but having been riding with friends who are black and watching the interaction with officers is very interesting indeed. I feel for the guy and unfortunately there isn’t much one can do in this instance except pay the ticket, and the officer did get pulled off route and assigned a very dull desk job.

i can’t stop crying.

hopefully when this cop dies no-one is able to visit him and he is all alone.

TO CINDYBRAUN AGAIN….
WHO SAID THAT HE STOPPED & LOOKED BOTH WAYS? PROBABLY THE GUY THAT RAN THE RED LIGHT. COME ON PEOPLE. ONLY IF YOU WERE IN THE CAR WOULD YOU “KNOW” THAT HE STOPPED & LOOKED BOTH WAYS OR MAYBE NOT.

Evil, pure and simple.
Fellow Officers need to hand him a Bible
so he’ll learn, the giver of life
provides us all a moment of living a miracle hour by hour, moment by moment
every second is precious.
How do you forgive such evil. Forget the uniform what kind of a person can do such a thing. A spiritual crime was committed against Mr. Moat’s.

TO HENRY…….
WHAT????????
HUH?????????

Yes, Ryan did commit a traffic violation. Yes, he needs to be cited. However, this officer continued to spout out all the things he could do to Ryan in a gross misconduct of his authority. Tick tock tick tock. Common sense would have had the officer take Ryan’s drivers license and then escort him into the hospital and confirm his situation and let him hightail it to the dying relatives room. He could have written the citation and given it to Ryan afterwards. Heck, he could have even let him off with a warning under these circumstances providing he didn’t endanger someone life at each intersection. Then this video would have gotten the officer much praise and what a great PR piece for the Dallas PD. Enjoy the desk duty officer! He won’t be mking detective anytime soon.

This is typical cop bullying. How could this cop forget that his job is also to help, not just bully?

Just another classis example of police abusing their power and thinking that THEY are above the law. We all see it every day, the cop that turns on his lights to run a red light (while not in pursuit), the group of cops at the bar getting sloshed and then driving using their shield as a get-out-of jail card, cops parking in no parking zones or fire zones to get lunch, talking to you like you are scum… I could keep going, but I am not a fan of these types of cops. Granted not all are this way, but in my experiences, about 75% are, especially the local townie cops that can’t hack it at higher state or federal levels. And for any of you cops out there reading this that know you are offenders to my accusations, just remember who pays your salary… the citizens and we should be treated that way, with respect (as well as it should be given).

THERE ARE SOME OUTSTANDING OFFICERS OUT THERE. HOWEVER THERE IS WAY TOO HIGH OF A PERCENTAGE THAT ARE DIRTY (ON DRUGS, ABUSING OVERTIME, ON THE TAKE ETC). ADDED TO THIS THE LARGE PERCENTAGE WHO ARE JUST RUDE AND ABUSIVE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. SINCE WHEN DID A BADGE GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TAKE AWAY THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. HELLO YOU KNOW CONSTITUTIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT BUT YOU CAN ALSO TALK AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. HE SHOULD BE FIRED FOR VIOLATING HER RIGHTS

Phil:
so what if Terry2F or anyone else had a run in with the cop for a traffic violation?…….so what?
Does this excuse this officer’s sorry behavior and abuse of power? No.

Do some of you people hide from the black helicopters at night?
Moats was being a jerk. If he hadn’t kept spouting off in such an aggressive nature, this whole deal probably would have been avoided.
Chief Kunkle is a coward for throwing one of his guys under the bus for doing his job. Now this cop will probably lose his job because the high paid NFL player wants to play victim. He should have just shut up and quit antagonizing the situation. It’s people like him that have made me come to hate the NFL and anything to do with it.

thank God for video! I tried to tell a cop he was mistaken but the putty brain with a gun refused to listen! The ticket was outrageous $$! I’m definitely not donating or voting for financially supporting these idiots!

This police man should be fired. What makes me really angry about this situation is this: We would have never heard about this happening if this man had not been on the Texans football team. How many times has this happened to those of us who are nobodies? I am so sorry for this mans loss. Condolences to him and his family.

My deepest condolences to your family Mr & Mrs Moats. You should speak with your counsel on how to persue this matter of which I am sure you already have been. Simply on the grounds the “Officer” (I loath to use this with this individual simply because he doent deserve that title) threatened this scary red light running criminal with towing this familys car, threatening to have the ablity to screw him over, but rather not go that way during a time of duress. Guess what Officer Dumas maybe its time to go back to pitching hay at your paws farm. If you were in my city, county, or state, rest assured you wouldnt have the job you have now, as you would be discraced out of your uniform, of which you have proven you have no business wearing. Hee Haw! guess that how they Getter Done down there. Big scary red light violators..Karma… thats all I can say

If the man looked both ways- if it was safe…Givehimabreak. The Officer is Heartless!!!Point Blank!!

anyone stating this was a racist act is a fool and is the current fuel to the racism fire…the problem with equality is it gets mashed up anytime anyone feels personally offended because they are of one color while someone else is of another color. I have had many experiences with officers and have encountered the pedastal officers as well as good men who are compassionate and understand honest mistakes. The realization of how dangerous there job is must be taken into account however. who knows these days a cop walks up to a car and gets blasted int he face with a gun…you can never be to careful.
This situation sucks but i guarantee you it was not intentional, and i suppose he should have relented after the nurse an the other officer came out to tell him what was happening, but to chastize him for originally doing his job and then to put his intent on a race related issue is a joke.
No white person alive today owned a black person, and no black person was owned by a white person,g et over it, its done with, stop using that copout whenever white vs black occurs. Racism is only alive if we make it alive…and dead if we kill it, so stop accusing any situation of being racist. If it wasnt for the youth white vote BO wouldnt be in office, i can assure you of this, so maybe we are a little less racist than accused of.

doer – Come on, how often does a cop walk up to a car and get “blasted in the face with a gun?” These people were not coming at him with any kind of force or weapons.
As far as the racism, there is definately racist overtones in this whole thing. No one can say for sure though that is is OR ISN’T racially driven… I venture to lean on the side that it has racial undertones based on what this cop said… like “You know what I could do to you boy?” type of attitude… straight out of the racist 50s. That is where people are coming up with the racist slant on the story. Had the officer just stopped him, written the ticket, and went on his way he would not be painted as a racist, just another bozo cop.

Jason – All that cop knew is that two people were seen speeding and running a red light at night. He pulled them over and saw they were visibly agitated and refusing to obey his commands. How many traffic stops like that end up with a dead cop?
As for the hassle of fighting a case in court, I got the BS charges dropped and kept my driving record clean and my insurance premium low and all it took was a calm demeanor and a few hours of leave time.

Why is it that cops don’t have to complete college? If teachers have to eventually get a Masters degree and constantly attend school every couple of years to be considered “highly qualified” these days, then should cops not be held to the same high standards? Unfortunately, anyone over 21 can, without any further schooling apply to become a cop. Sure, there is a two year degree out there for law-enforcement, but it isn’t required in most areas, and it isn’t enough. A four year college degree might mature these people a bit and teach them some critical thinking skills that are obviously needed when they are on duty.

I can only assume one of several things:
a) The officer was having problems at home.
b) He was drunk but managed to mask it very well.
c) His shoes were burning and he was irate.
d) He hates hospitals.
e) He was hungry at that time of the morning and thus could not think properly.
It has to be something of a very strange nature that would lead to the cold and indifferent behaviour that was demonstrated. Or maybe he is just plain ddumb.

I want everyone to ask yourself one question. How did this “Officer” move from stopping him for speeding and running a stop sign to “Do you want me to search your car.” Are you kidding me… #1 Moat had his Hazards on (hince an emergency), #2 “Put your hands up” – you do not have a right to detain a passenger for speeding, #3 “Do you want me to search your car..” – No probable cause… The list goes on. I repeat – What an IDIOT.

The fact is that Moats did NOT hit and kill another motorist. Was it reckless driving? Yes. But at the point where they all arrived at the hospital in one piece, the cop should have had no problem waiting until they said their good-byes before addressing the situation. It’s not as if he had some big case to deal with. Power-tripping has become a huge problem w/ police officers. It must be stopped.

God bless you Whitney you could not have said it better. Most cops are good human beings like you wonderful father. But this one and so many others are the opposite, all he could have done was to get the guys driver license and car keys and follow him to the Hospital to verify and then give him a HUGE ticket for breaking the law. Its just unfortunate that he did not relate to their plea as anyone else could have seen that it was obvious..

respect for authority – Police are not severly underpaid in my community or my state. They work for 20 years and retire with a full pension, pay, benefits, and at the ripe old age of 45. And so being, if the police in your demographic are underpaid, well that is their own fault. No one forced them to accept the job or the pay and if they choose to work it, then that is their choice. I cry a tear for no one that claims that they are underpaid. You are only in that profession by choice.
The problem is that this “authority” that cops use and exercise is abused over and over and this is just another classic example. Give me one good reason, just one, for why this cop needed to lecture and say the things that he did regarding what he could do to Mr. Moats and his family, his car, etc. Why was there a need for it? Honestly… A lot of people put this on Mr. Moats to keep the situation calm… well I put it on the cop’s and all he did was try and aggravate Mr. Moats to do something… luckily he did not snap.

Agreed H2, the office should have listened a bit more, and followed him up to the Hospital bed, and then cited him, if he was still so inclined… why stop there, cite him for parking in a disabled spot as well, but still should have done a better job listening to Moats and all the other Hospital personel who came out to explain the situation.

Jason–really? Police are not underpaid? You probably think that our troops are overpaid. How much would you ask to be paid for putting your life on the line everyday? How much would you want your wife to be paid in death benefits if you were snuffed out on the job?
I live in DC where (1) police are required to have a four-year degree; (2) police are federal employees and (3) police are probably paid one of hte highest pay rates in the country, and STILL are underpaid. Maybe in your small community, being a police officer is some cake job. In the big city, it’s dangerous. It’s physically taxing on the body. And you don’t know if you’re going to make it home safely that night.
Some people (obviously not you) feel that it’s their life’s work to serve….teachers, military, and law enforcement. So while no one forced them into this line of work, it’s work that doesn’t suit everyone. It’s work for which not everyone is qualified.

To many cops are on power trips. I understand he did run a red light but he was in a hospital parking lot. Obviously Moats was excited (family was dying). Is it to much to expect law officers to stay calm and be able to handle a stresful situation. Sure is…Now all we have are cops on Powertrips.

Sorry, but running a red light, no matter what the reason, is dangerous. Other drivers on the road didn’t know why Moats was speeding and running red lights – he could easily have caused an accident. There are more strategic ways to get where you’re going in a hurry without abandoning the laws of the road.

I guess being an Aerospace Engineer is mindless…huh smartie pants. Watch the video again the “officer” threatened to search his car before Moats got agitated. Moats in the white shirt was just trying to explain that his mother was dying at that point. Smart, closed-minded, simpleton…

Big man! Oooo! I’ll bet he went home and told his wife (if there’s even anyone on the planet that can actually STAND him), “Yeah, I told this guy who was boss. My word is law. People obey ME or else!” Then we wonder why young people have so little respect for authority. It’s idiots like this that were probably bullied as kids and have to take it out on the rest of the world now whether they need it or not.

Dallas tv reports the cop will be fired.

How’d that cop like to sit in a car outside the hospital while his loved one died? Abuse of power. It was OBVIOUS they were slowing down at stop signs and going straight to the hospital entrance. He was being a racist jerk. Another cop on a power trip. It makes me sick. I am very sorry Mr. Moats and his family had to go through this.

My question is Why are some people stating Ryan Moats could have killed someone? Do they not hear the conversation where the cop plainly agrees that Moats first stopped at the red light checked the traffic, and then preceeded to the hospita? Im sure Moats had no death wish at that time. I am not sure what the cop was thinking it certainly was not “gee some one just ran a red light and ran into a hospitals parking lot let me see how I can help them.”

For those of you saying that this man was just doing his job, you need to take a look at the unedited version. Moats had to stand there and hear that his mother was coding for the THIRD time and wait patiently while this person writes him a ticket and then begins lecturing him again.
This man needs to loose his pay! They lost time that can never be replaced. If you were in Moats place, I wonder if you would have thought that this man was just doing his job. Moats and his family were traumatized already. When my father died the last thing I could do is think clearly. The policeman was CLEARLY wrong and his pocket book should be void for a moment so that he can become empathetic to someone who is hurting!

Dallas tv reports the cop will be fired.
Posted by: dallas fan
*******************************
Too bad there are 50 others just like
him on the force.

And to think this man is a public servant, I am so sorry for the Moats Family. This officer clearly needs to be relieved of his duty (or lack of). My family has been in law enforcement for over 20 years and we would never keep anyone from a family emergency. Shame on this bad officer.

There are a lot of issues here. One is that this woman had cancer. She didn’t just suddenly start to die. You would think her daughter would know that she was going to die and would have been by her side instead of waiting until 30 minutes before she took her last breath and run to the hospital in the middle of the night. There is too much being made up about this and just because this cop was a jerk it doesn’t mean that all cops are bad or stupid. I didn’t read any comments about the four cops that were recently killed in the line of duty in CA. I guess all you people were happy that the creeps got them some cops. We have issues in this country where everything that’s bad is good and everything that’s good is bad. The police chief had to apologize because the of the media circus surrounding this incident. It is his job to protect the image of his department. There would be public outrage if he had defended this cop even if he thought he was doing his job.

I had an incident with a dallas police officer at a race at texas motor speedway. the officer was going out of his way to create an issue were there wasn’t one. Sounds like Texas has problems. This officer need’s to be suspended w/o pay!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he had stopped at the red light he would have been detained for a minute or less. But now he is whining about losing a valuable 20 minutes and it’s all the cops fault. If this guy wasn’t an NFL player we never would have heard about this.

Don
You need to do your research. The family had been there all day and into the evening. As soon as they got home to change and get a little rest they were summoned BACK to the hospital.
You too need a little empathy. As for the four cops, their families have been in my prayers. My dad was a cop to and I can only imagine what they are going through.
My dad was a good cop and a compassionate one just like the many who are on the force; however, every good tree produces some bad apples!
Remember: Seek the Truth!

this officer clearly displayed his true character,maybe he should be ticketed for disordely conduct!

The police officer should be fired!! This is outrageous!!!

It is not ok to speed and it is not ok to run a red light under these circumstances. You place other people at risk when you speed and run red lights. What if this man’s action had led to a fatal auto accident? Would his actions still be justified? The cop did the right thing by pulling this guy over. His actions after this point are questionable, but there is plenty of blame to go around. Yes, it is tragic that your relative is dying, but it does NOT give you the right to put others at risk.

I believe the cop was ONLY doing his job. Everybody should back off! If you read the story, it stated that this NFL player was speeding and ran a red light. What these two bozos should have done was called 911 and explained to the dispatcher that a police officer has turned on its blue lights due to the fact that they are speeding to the hospital to see their dying mother. Also, why didn’t this bone head have his insurance card at the ready? Yeah, just blame it on the cop for doing his job. Next time try using that excuse to get out of a speeding ticket. The Plano Police Department should have sided with the police officer. Shame on you!

Though the Police Officer had reacted as he suppose to do his duty, I think he would have let them go visit the dying loved one once he has learned their side.

I want to address a few things:
About Moats being wreckless:
-He said he looked both ways at the red light and was waved on by another driver. He obviously cared about alerting others to his situation since his hazard lights are on.
About Moats being a jerk:
-He was in a highly emotional situation. I would challenge all of the naysayers to stay calm when a loved one is dying and there’s someone standing in your way of seeing said loved one.
The threat of a person lying to the cops:
-Moats pulled into a hospital
-The story was verified by another officer
-The nurse verified the story
The officer stalling:
It was obvious he was stalling. As someone who has been ticketed I can tell you for sure it doesn’t take THAT long to write a ticket.
The officer lacks compassion and brains. He doesn’t need or deserve his job.

I am disappointed and embarrassed by Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle. What a crock of doo doo that this police chief spewed at his news conference. Nobody should be apologizing for anything. Again, when is it a right for these jokers to speed and run a red light. What if they pulled guns and starting shooting and this police officer was shot dead. I bet this Police Chief would be eating his words.

I have always felt to be a police officer a prerequisite of a Psychology degree should be a must.
You would see better decisions and professionalism , many times you have the unqualified in the forms of NOT being smart as demonstrated in this video, He needs to be fired for not only what took place here but to prevent future incompetence.
Many times you have bouncers with the muscle head sneaking onto the force ,And others with a criminal element and intention.. trying to hide behind the badge once they into the force.
being a police officer is much more than being able to get someone down for a arrest or shooting a gun.
Its about understanding a situation and applying the best judgement, But as we become so tired in seeing thats never there.
The citizens pay for their salary, they work on behalf of the citizens and need to show RESPECT when they encounter situations like this.

Abuse of power and not being reasonable at all. It could have been racism or this cop just treats everyone like a hardened criminal. What empathy on his part……What an arse. Make an example of the jerk
And to the person that suggested Moats leave and go into the building, that would be death sentence for that guy.This guy probably would have tazered him or even shot him ! NICE….SERVE AND PROTECT MY _ _ _ !

Why was a Dallas, TX cop pulling someone over in Plano, TX?

So, you are saying that this incident makes him a bad cop! Dude, get a life. What world do you live in; the make believe one. Where everybody is nice to each other and daffidols grow everywhere!
Let me roll my eyes back…

What kind of police force is in Dallas, Texas?. I live in Houston and I am so a shame of what happen. I am also talking about how nice people are in Texas. But this police officer have chance my testimony forever. If this police officer stays on the force, then I will know that the city of Dallas believes what this police officer did was acceptable. If this police officer remains on the force in Dallas, then I will try with all my might not ever visit Dallas again. This is not just my opinion, but my family and friends too. I have never seen or heard of anyone being denied the right to see their love one before dying. I don’t like that this officers actions bring such shame to all Texans. We are not like that and others living in others states will see us as heartless people.
I am so upset. I will praying for Ryan Moat’s family in their time of need. But I will also being praying for this officer, because all the world can truly see he needs to allow God to change his heart into a compassionate heart.
I will mourn with those who mourn.

This officer is an idiot and should not be allowed on the streets. Cops run red lights all the time not going on calls and speed becqause they are in a hurry to get home or to the donut shop. People that only have a certain amount of time tget somewhere in an emergency try to safely get there in a hurry. In the old dats a real officer with a heart would have went in with them and let them say their last goodbyes. It’s a shame that he has gave good cops another bad name. Hopefully the Gov. of Texas, the Mayor of Dallas and the President of the United States will see that it’s time to make sure things like thi doesn’t happen again. When a loved one is dying and you don’t think very well and dealing with a horeses *# like this cop was hard. This moment in time where a husband and son-in-law can’t never be brought back. This want to be cop needs a job flipping burgers not serve and protect Fire him because there is no other punishment that could give him ant common sense or a heart. We are human beings not animals to be pushed around. There are still good police officers out there, but far and between.We all loss someone everyday and I would if I have a chance to see them before they go to say my goodbyes and I LOVE THEM for one last time.

Brothers in Arms
Way to go! Right on!
Love ya bro

As with most stories dealing with police misconduct, most completely misundstand what has taken place. People tend to see police work as any other job, and try to relate to it from that perspective. To make matters worse, the media loves to chop up footage that often leaves out important information.
The thing is, people lie to police so often that they cannot ever take a persons word for it. The guy was speeding and ran a red light. From the perspective of Mr.Moats, he had a good reason. Regardless of anything else, the officer is going to run the plates and confirm identities, and that takes time. If Mr.Moats would have remained calm, the process would have been shorter.
Just because someone claims to have an emergency, unless it is immediately apparent what the emergency is, the officer is going to check out the story.
To make matters worse, you have people on the scene breaking the law and ignoring lawful commands of a police officer.
As I said, Mr.Moats may have thought he had a good reason to break the law. I would like to see the whole tape, as usual context has probably been lost. Also take into consideration that the officer hears the relative dying story every week. An officer just isn’t going to let you go without checking things out first.
I love the comment above that said police officers should have psychology degrees. Ask how many psychology majors if they desire a career in a field that is under-appreciated, life threatening, and where you deal with the worst humanity offers on a daily basis, all with a meager salary.

The cop was doing his job.
It wouldn’t have taken long for the driver to stop at the light and follow traffic rules like everyone else. How was the cop supposed to really know that this was an emergency??? They could have been running drugs or some other crime for all he knew. The minute that it would have taken to sit through a red light would have saved all this hassle. Put the blame where it belongs. Every single one of you will call the cops if someone busts into your house or steals your car, so don’t go putting it all on them.

This is exactly why race relations are still tense in 2009. Here we are in the 21st century and we do not have police officers that could use simple common sense to determine that this guy is one he could let go.
This officer and so many more need sensitivity training and emotional intelligence wouldn’t hurt.

I am sad to say that this idiot cop is “protecting” my city. I’ve read some people talking about how Moats ran a light and what if he ran into someone, what you aren’t getting is the full story. In Dallas the news story was longer and explained more. Moats had his flashers on the entire time and he actually stopped at the lights but the 1 other car at the light (because it was 1am) let him go due to them seeing it was urgent. So don’t sit here and judge Moats for running lights, I mean if your mother/family member was dying in the hospital you are telling me you would obey every single stop sign, speed limit, and light? I think not.
The cop is an idiot and the fact that other cops and nurses had to come out and he says ‘I’m almost done here’STILL is just disturbing. To think that you are doing the world justice at that time is ridiculous. And yea, way to go DPD for apologizing to him but it is pointless. The man lost those last 20 minutes of his mother-in-laws life that he will never get back because of your idiot.

Whatever happened to “To Protect and To Serve?” Short of shooting and/or killing Mr. Moats, I can’t think of anything that would be more of a dis-service. The real crime here is that that officer’s salary is paid by taxpayer dollars.

What is the motto of the Police Department? Is it to Serve and Protect?
Was this idiot serving and protecting a man by keeping him from seeing his mother who was dying? I the cop’s mother was dying would he say and oh he was just doing his job, he did not do anthing wrong, if the roles where turned aroung?
All of those who said the cop was doing his job are just proving their ignorance. If their mother was dying and this happened to them, they would have a different opinion. That is the difference between a cop and a police office. This cop should be fired and all this should go on his record. I have met a lot of wonderful police officers and have made me proud to have met them.

The officer was not in the wrong. He was doing his duty as trained. Mr. Moats needed to hang in there and do what’s right by waiting for 1-1/2 minutes with a red light instead of wasting 20 with a cop for a bad decision. If people do what’s right they would save themselves a lot of grief.

Just to set the record straight, my wife and I have both been advised – BY POLICE OFFICERS at different times – that in the middle of the night or when there is an emergency such as a need to get to a hospital very quickly, we should stop for a red light, look to ensure that no traffic whatsoever is approaching, AND THEN PROCEED THROUGH THE RED SIGNAL WITH GREAT CAUTION.
My wife was advised to do this by police dispatch when transporting her sister who was having an asthma attack. I was similarly so advised by an officer simply because he felt it was stupid to sit and wait for a traffic light at 3 or 4 AM, possibly to be rear-ended by a DUI. I have also heard of the same advice being given to women driving alone at night in areas where there have been carjackings, rapes or kidnappings.
So here is the point: the law actually permits one to violate a traffic signal when it is necessary for overriding reasons of safety, and the courts often hold that such violation is justifiable – if conducted with extra regard to safety – when one is faced with a truly emergent need to get somewhere without delay.
According to this story, this all happened in the middle of the night, and the only “traffic” in the area turned out to be this one police car sitting somewhere nearby. And it further happened in close proximity to the destination hospital. The driver evidently communicated his very reasonable reason for violating this signal – even another officer opined that the matter should be dropped immediately – and personnel from the hospital also advised this officer that there was an overriding need related to human compassion.
Furthermore, although an officer has a legal right to hold a driver briefly due to a traffic infraction, the same right does not actually extend to passengers who wish to leave when there is no evidence of actual criminal behavior: by preventing the wive from entering the hospital, this officer essentially committed kidnapping under color of authority. (In my state, a cop lost his job and nearly spend years in prison for such behavior a few years ago!)
Finally, it is recorded that even the Police Chief felt the need to apologize in writing for this officer’s behavior!
As I have noted before, I appears to me that this is probably just another case of “DWB”. Police everywhere should take heed and realize that such practice will no longer be tolerated.

WHY IS THIS COP ON PAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE????????? So he ends up with a “vacation” from his job, and the Moats family has to deal with loss of a loved one due to this officer’s actions. The officer could have walked with Mr. Moats into the hospital to verify the story if he had any doubts. The officer’s behavior is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE AND HE DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE PAID FOR IT.

I can’t believe this has happened. My heart goes out to the family. I was robbed of saying goodbye to my mom, also because of the police. My mom was airlifted to the hospital due injuries in a car accident and the police never bothered to contact our family. The hospital had her for eight hours and the police finally called us ten minutes before she died. We couldn’t get there to tell her it was okay for her to leave us and to say our last “I love you” and goodbye. If you close your eyes and envision your loved one lying in critical condition in the hospital all by themselves, would your heart break? That was three years ago and it still breaks my heart to know we could have been there if the police had just picked up the phone. I pray this doesn’t happen to anyone else. No one should be denied being with their loved ones while they leave this precius earth.

CONSIDERING THEY WERE AT A HOSPITAL THE OFFICER COULD HAVE AT LEAST ESCORTED THEM IN TO HAVE HIS PROOF RIGHT THERE, THAT THEY WERE THERE FOR THE REASON THEY SAID……UNEXCUSABLE…..THAT POLICE OFFICER SHOULD BE ASHAMED.I LIVE IN CANADA AND HAVE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH AN ACT BY POLICE OFFICER….IM SURE IT HAPPENS ALL OVER BUT THIS IS A SHAME.MY CONDOLENCES TO THE MOATS FAMILY….MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU…NFL FAN ANDREW

If that cop had half a brain he would of realized that something was wrong. The NFL player had his flashers on (which is one clue) the cop followed him to the ER (that should of been the big clue). What idiot wouldn’t have figured that one out (oh my bad, the idiot cop).
My heart and prayers go out to the Family.

Reading comments like makes me relaize how stupid people really are. The last time I looked there is no law that says you can put on your flashers and run lights, speed and PUT OTHER PEOPLES LIFES IN DANGER. Oh and for this is racists I guess that the officer could see threw that dark tint to know he was black. STUPIDITY All you people hold your heads up high as you walk down the street.

Unlike apparently a lot of the posters here, I saw the dash-cam video. Ack! The only thing this cop left out of his homage to the KKK was to force the guy to get on his knees and sing “Mammy” before he would let him go. Not racist? If you don’t think his behaviour was racist, you don’t live in this world. I can just imagine the reaction of his fellow officers who will now be forced to endure “sensitivity” training thanks to him.
Don’t bother saying he pulled his gun because he was alarmed; if he was,he would have called for backup and waited for them. When you hear his comments on the tape and the smug pleasure in his voice as he stalls Moats just because he can, you understand the outrage. Good cops do their job right. Everything I saw on that video was extremely poor procedure, complete absence of judgement, and pure abuse of power. Now good cops have to pay for it.

I tried to put myself in Ryan Moat’s family’s shoes, and then I remembered that I HAVE been in his shoes ~ rushing to the emergency room 11 times in 9 months with my father before he finally passed. Not once did I run a red light or stop sign. Not once did I choose to put the lives of others in danger as I rushed to the emergency room. Why then does this man and his family feel that they have the right to jeopardize the lives of others? He doesn’t. They don’t. If he had stopped at the red light, he wouldn’t have been stopped by the police. If he hadn’t decided that his rights were above everyone else, he wouldn’t have been stopped at the hospital. He was wrong. And he should apologize for putting his neighbors and strangers in danger and to the police officer for being suspended for doing his job.

give me a break. the driver made a mistake. the cop did his job. i’m sorry the driver’s mother-in-law passed away, but the facts are the facts. i don’t know of any traffic stop where passenegers leave the vehicle and walk away during the traffic stop. the apology of the police department is ridiculous.
and, no, i’m not a cop or related to a cop.
the cop was doing his job.

After seeing the interview with Ryan and
Tanisha Moats, I can only conclude that they have far more compassion and understanding of others than mr.powell demonstrated. Hopefully, he will have truly learned both through this very unfortunate incident. The silver lining is that we have learned about Tanisha’s wonderful mother; my heartfelt sympathy to her family on their loss.

“WHY IS THIS COP ON PAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE????????? So he ends up with a “vacation” from his job, and the Moats family has to deal with loss of a loved one due to this officer’s actions.” – Susan
Probably because of some stupid labor union rule.

Just because someone has their flashers on doesn’t mean they have a free pass to ignore the police. Just imagine if it did?

The police officer saw that the man had flashers on when he ran the light. Clearly in the video you can see that the man stopped before going through the light to check for oncoming traffic! He had already pulled into the hospital before the cop even got close to him.
The officer didn’t walk up to the car and say sir you ran a redlight, what seems to be the problem here? He automatically went into Put your hands in the air! Shut your mouth! Would not even listen to the gentleman! The NFL guy was not being rude at all! He could have taken the man’s information and written a ticket and then left it with the guys car! Or brought it inside! He could have looked at the seriousness of the situation and let the guy go! He was a brute and the cop should be removed from the force and red flagged from working as a cop ever again! I highly doubt if he would have been so insensitive if the couple were white! I’m white and even I see the racism here!

Did you spend so much time on this
story because he was a NFL player?
Why do you think that NFL players are
so important as to deserve you should
spend the huge amount of air time to
his story. Football players are really
not that news worthy. His was a sad
case but not worthy of all your air time.

Cops are no longer my hero’s they were but no more. The cops who are heroes are now the exception versus the rule. Yes there are some great police officers but there are more drunks, losers, pe4ople counting their time till pension.
Today cops shoot people who are unarmed which include men, women and children way to often. Cops no longer protect, they come after the fact and they are always rude, like they are doing you a favor being there.
Instead of a group of heroes we have a bunch of punks with the legal right to shoot anyone who “reaches for their waist band or state they were in fear of their life”. The excuse we hear over and over. The words never change, they are always the same. I for one have had it with these power nut punks who threaten people with deadly force for any excuse.
This being said, equal share of the problem is our courts who loss all common since.
Cops are in fear of their lives – quit get another job – no you have to force the punks out.

This sounded so familiar to me. This happened to my daughter,son-in-law and me on our way to the Veterans Home in a small town in Louisiana. This was 10 years ago and we had received a call that my husband was near death. My son-in-law was not driving very fast, only 5 miles over the speed limit. The police officer kept us for at least 10 minutes with my son-in-law repeatedly telling the office that we were trying to get to the hospital.
By the way, my son-in-law was also a former NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys, Billy Cannon, Jr.
We felt that the least the officer could have done, would have been to say, “Follow me, I’ll lead you there”

WOW . . . I am amazed at the lack of compassion for the Moats family from so many posters.
Time is ticking. There’s going to come a day when you need the same compassion the Moats family needed. God help you when you meet up with someone just as egotistical and cold-hearted as this poor excuse for a police officer.

my god people wake up!you cant blame this man for running a red light,and say the police was doing his job.this man was about to lose a loved one.something like that you dont want to miss out on because you will never get the chance to say your good-byes… what if it was “you” trying to get to your mother,father,brother,sister,son or daughter.how would you feel then?hope it never happens to you!

People can say what they want but in this case the officer was clearly wrong !!!

the cop could have been more sensitive but i think we need to realize that he was on gaurd…think about it…a big SUV with dark tints and a bunch of people jumping out…late at night, I don’t know, what do they expect? They should have stopped properly identified themselves and their situation.

Sad as this story is, let’s get the facts right GMA. The caption on the screen reads “family pulled over by police”. That’s not accurate. How bout “motorist who ran from police”.
Had Moats pulled over when the police turned on their lights, this might have a completely different outcome. He stops, tells the officer of their situation and he may very well get a police escort to the hospital. Instead he runs. He could have hit and killed someone running the red light. Is the life of his mother-in-law more important the the others on the street? No. And an officer of the law has a duty to stop someone driving wrecklessly. (Imagine the cop letting him drive off, he hits someone in a crosswalk. Then you’re blaming the cop for THAT)
GMA is in such a hurry to make this a story about racism, you conveniently ignore the fact that Ryan Moats did not stop for a police officer…a fundamental mistake. And that is where everything began to go bad. You DON’T run from the cops…PERIOD. As soon as you do, by definition you’re acting in a suspicious manner. Is that completely lost on you?!
I have empathy for their loss, but a car that doesn’t stop for law enforcement when told to is asking for trouble…regardless of the circumstances. Had Mr Moats pulled over, this story may have had a different outcome. But we’ll never konw that, because instead he ran. Moats is as much at fault at the police officer, and only an incurable case of politically correct blindness would prevent someone from seeing that.

The cop said in the interview that he is scared and upset because he is getting death threats. Now officer, why should WE care about your life when evidently you really DONT care about others??? What so special about yours that people should overlook the fact that you are just one of those crooks who thinks they are above the law???
I think Ryan Moats should sue this cop or the entire Police Department for this incident. If these cops can sit and hide in corners to trap people and issue them tickets just so that they can meet their quota for the month, to press charges when this kind of incident happens is the least Ryan Moats can do.

I need to add that I love Robin Roberts, but I am very dissapointed in her. I feel she sided with Moats and that is very sad. Look at both sides. The officer was doing his job, Moats was very disrepectful to the officer. He broke the law. I can only hope that the officer still has his job. He may need more experience, but I hope this doesn’t make him a more lienent officer. We need officers to suspect everyone!!!!!

This is a much too common situation of a police officer abusing the little power he has over the rest of the public. Obviously this officer used no common sense when dealing with the situation at hand.
I have read some other people saying what if he had killed someone. The fact is that he didnt kill or harm anyone. You can see that from the dash cam that he had his hazard lights on. He also stated that he got permission from other drivers to proceed through the intersection. This means that he STOPPED and carefully proceeded through. In my mind he handled his driving to the best of his abilities given the circumstances.
I am from Plano, where all of this took place, and I have to deal with this kind of crap from the Plano Police all the time. And police officers wonder why they no respect from the public