What an absolute cock of a cop.

[Commando]

the problem is the cops need to get their asses kicked once in a while instead of hiding behind that badge and radio.

[The_Tick]

the problem is the cops need to get their asses kicked once in a while instead of hiding behind that badge and radio.

Signed,

Oakland

[Hallelujah]

What a dickhole,

Perfect candidate for a TSA security job at the airport. Of course the cop has to either be a 300 lb female or used to standing aroud watching others work.

[Hallelujah]

I don't completely fault the cop.

They have a thankless job.

They get shot at and killed.

I know that I would always be on the edge also.

Could he have shown some more compassion? Sure.

Should he lose his job? No way.

Just to clarify...he did break the law.

Correct. Would you want to risk your life for $40K per year?

[SoCalCoug]

Correct. Would you want to risk your life for $40K per year?

You can be a cop and still be an ass. This cop was an ass.

[The_Tick]

You can be a cop and still be an ass. This cop was an ass.

And I agree with that.

But the one thing that will always, and I mean always, be overlooked is that the NFL player is the only person that put himself in that situation.

Don't run the red light, this doesn't happen.

It sounds silly, but it really would have been that simple. Had he waited 30 seconds to a minute longer at the light this would be a non-issue.

I don't know how I would have responded in his shoes. I have yet to lose my MIL.

I also don't know how I would have reacted as the Police officer. I would like to think I would have shown more compassion.

One will never know.

[il Padrino Ute]

You can be a cop and still be an ass. This cop was an ass.

This guy is an ass. He would be an ass if he was the assistant manager at McDonald's or one of the janitors at a mall.

That he's a cop really isn't relative to his being an ass.

[YOhio]

This thread is confusing. Is the cop a c or an a? You can't be both.

[FMCoug]

There is an interesting dynamic going on in Plano that may have contribued to this. Plano used to be the affluent white subrub area of Dallas. But that was 20+ years ago and as it has aged, some areas of Plano have begun to become more affordable with the older houses and a lot of blacks and latinos (more of the latter) have moved in. Old timers don't like that, blah, blah, blah. Dallas has huge racial problem and is extremely polarized. I-30 might as well be the Mason-Dixon line. The inner city is generally considered to be the southern part of Dallas and the blacks who have moved out of the city are largely congregated in the southern suburbs (Lancaster, etc.). The racial politics in Dallas county were a site to behold ...

All that said, it appears that this was a Dallas PD cop, not Plano so I may be off base.

[Surfah]

This thread is confusing. Is the cop a c or an a? You can't be both.

Yeah. Team America clarified that up for me.

[ERCougar]

Cops see the worst in our society every day and get accustomed to people lying to them every day about everything. They come to not trust almost anything they hear.

In my experience there are two kinds of cops I see in court. There is the kind that when you talk to them before court almost always say "hey, I did my job to get your guy to this point, whatever you and the prosecutor work out or whatever the judge does is okay with me." These types are friendly and less cynical. They care, but they are not personally invested in outcomes. There is a state trooper here about my age who has been at it for ten years, I saw him yesterday on a matter when my client almost ran him over at the side of the road while he was making another stop and he was very upset at the scene and chased my lady down. In talking to him yesterday he simultaneously described it as the closest call he had ever had and was also laughing about it with me.

The other kind, which probably represents a third of them, do take it personally, obviously have emotional investment in the outcome, are skeptical and borderline confrontational with me, don't want the prosecutor deal, get upset when they are cross examined and generally end up angry and bitter.

I can see how a person gets to be the second way. It happens often enough. But that is the guy who who gets jaded, angry and bitter and is more likely to make this kind of error in judgment because emotion makes him lose his cool or his perspective. I think they ought to be like fire fighters where they get large stretches off. It is just so easy for them to lose proper perspective and what we ask them to do is damn hard on the psyche. There is no excuse for how that officer behaved, but there is an explanation. This is something that should be better addressed.

Well put, UD. You can tell the people who actually work with law enforcement.

I think cops have the most difficult job out there. I think of the hardest parts of my job, the parts that are ruining me as a person, and cops have to do that full-time. I can't tell you how sick I am of hearing BS stories about the "dude" that "broke into my car and stole my Vicodins", how "I was just mindin my own business when these two dudes jumped me" (the running ER joke is that if we catch those two dudes, we could virtually eliminate violent crime), "i ain't done no cocaine" (yeah, another mistaken urine drug screen), "i ain't never had sex, mama!" (as her baby's crowning--true story), etc. I'm to the point where I don't believe a word people tell me anymore, and I can't even imagine where cops get to in no time. So yeah, I'm not totally surprised that the cop didn't go in to verify yet another BS story, only this time, she happened to be telling the truth. Should he have? Of course. But I'm willing to cut him a little slack, considering what he has to deal with every day, before I end his career.

I work with cops every day and I'd echo UD's observations. Most, amazingly, seem to fall into the first category. However, I've seen even the nicest ones crack, and I can't say I'd be any stronger. And until you spend a day in their shoes, working with the underbelly of society, neither can you.

He just needs a little office break to regain his perspective.

[CardiacCoug]

I don't think the cop should lose his job. Obviously, the right thing to do would have been to walk Moats and his family into the hospital and either write the ticket up quickly or just forget it entirely. The cop was obviously being a dick and enjoying making Moats wait, even after he knew they were telling the truth.

He should be reprimanded and get a break from being on the streets for a while.

If it didn't happen to be an NFL player involved in this case, I'm sure nothing would have happened to the cop.

[wuapinmon]

I think they ought to be like fire fighters where they get large stretches off. It is just so easy for them to lose proper perspective and what we ask them to do is damn hard on the psyche. There is no excuse for how that officer behaved, but there is an explanation. This is something that should be better addressed.

I agree with each and every sentence in this paragraph. I fully support sabbatical for cops.

[Coach McGuirk]

Cop resigned,

Officer Robert Powell, who detained Houston Texans' Ryan Moats resigns - ESPN

DALLAS -- The police officer who pulled out his gun and threatened an NFL player with jail instead of allowing him inside a hospital where his mother-in-law was dying resigned Wednesday.

Officer Robert Powell had been placed on paid leave pending an investigation of the March 18 incident.

"I made this decision in the hope that my resignation will allow the Dallas Police Department, my fellow officers and the citizens of Dallas to better reflect on this experience, learn from the mistakes made, and move forward," Powell said in a statement issued through his attorneys.

He had stopped Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center in suburban Plano after the vehicle rolled through a red light.

The officer pulled out his gun and threatened Moats with jail as the player and his family pleaded to be allowed to go inside the hospital. Powell continued writing Moats a ticket and lecturing him even after a fellow officer confirmed that Moats' mother-in-law was dying.

Jonetta Collinsworth, 45, died of breast cancer before Powell allowed Moats to go inside the hospital.

Powell's resignation was first reported by Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT. He later issued an apology, and Moats said he would accept it.

"I still hope to speak with the Moats family to personally express my deep regret, sympathy, and to apologize for my poor judgment and unprofessional conduct," he said in the Wednesday statement.

He also said he wanted to apologize to his fellow officers.

A call to Dallas police was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Dallas police Chief David Kunkle previously apologized to the family and said Powell acted inappropriately. He also lauded Moats' restraint, noting that he did not try to seek special treatment by identifying himself as an NFL player.

Moats, 26, explained that he had waited until there was no traffic before continuing through the red light. When Powell asked for proof of insurance, Moats grew more agitated and told the officer to go find it.

According to video from a dashboard camera inside the officer's vehicle, Moats' wife, Tamishia Moats, and another woman disregarded Powell's order to get back inside their vehicle, and they rushed into the hospital. After Powell yelled at Tamishia Moats to stay in the SUV, she said, "Excuse me, my mom is dying -- do you understand?"


Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press