Posted on 03/26/2009 7:44:00 AM PDT by texan75010
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Have you ever heard of something called “common sense”?
Of course you are. But it's obvious that your opinion reflects either a callous lack of humanity or a failure to read the article.
nice hijack, though.
Did you post this before reading past the first line of the article?
I hope you’re never in a situation where someone has to make a judgment call on your behalf.
Uhhh...I just reread the article, and it doesn't mention speeding. I'd assume maybe he did. But the article mentions rolling through a red light.
As far as the emotions of the situation goes.
Yes we had a person who rolled through a red light.
We also had a cop acting like an absolute A$$.
And you seem to be covering for the A$$.
Are you pro-life at all? His mother-in-law died in that hospital because he was held outside the hospital, being lectured by a cop with no common sense.
He stopped at the red light, had his hazards on, communicated with the car at the cross street, who waved him through the intersection. I’d say he exercised appropriate caution.
Get back to me on this red light thing if you’re ever in an emergency situation. You can’t predict it - you can only be ready when the unexpected happens.
Sheesh.
The guy ran a light. I got no pity_____.(Fill in the blank)
Thanks for proving you didn't read the article.
About what? That you make alot of money, or the friends you buy are REEEEAALL expensive?
It is called “necessity”
Where violating law “A” is necesary to prevent some overwhelming public harm or the violation of law “B”.
Think of the ticking time bomb scenario. HOWEVER that is a defense, not a free license.
It is a defense to be raised IN court. IOW “Officer please give me the ticket as fast as possible so I can go to my dying relative’s bedside.” It is not an excuse to act nutty.
So there is a valid legal defense to running the light.
In this case 1. the officer was a jerk, and 2. the NFL player was equally a jerk for assuming he should not get the ticket.
The NFL person should have accepted the ticket in order to get there asap and then explained it to the judge under “necessity.”
The problem is these tickets are not about justice, they are aobut revenue and most judges are safety nazis. (its for yer owwwn good, OBEY!)
This makes me so DAMN MAD!!!!!!!
“I also knew some good local cops too...back before all that SWAT stuff...he coached my Dixie Youth ballteam and now his boy is a freeper.”
I resemble that remark.
“It’s a tough job that sometimes attracts mean angry resentful folks...or even criminals.”
And in some cases creates mean, angry, resentful folks...and criminals.
The officer should be doing stable duty with a shovel in hand.
Speeding, red light, same difference.
Are you saying you want the cop to be the judge and jury right there on the scene?
So Im the bad guy for wanting due process of the laws. So be it...
He was cited for running a red light, not reckless op or DUI. my guess is no other cars were coming or there was a close call with other vehicles.
Sounds like a money stop to me, if getting the ticket money is more important than getting to the side of a dying loved one then OK. However I think you will find few to back up such an idea.
lol.
I want the cop to use some judgment. There's a difference.
"So Im the bad guy for wanting due process of the laws. So be it..."
You are the bad guy for having no compassion or humanity and putting the letter of the law above the spirit, Inspector Javert. Mr. Moats was BEGGING for due process of law; he wanted the officer to write him the ticket and get it over with so he could attend to more important matters. Instead, the officer chose to be a scumbag by lecturing him and intentionally wasting time.
Wow NO discernment or compassion.
You sure you're not a liberal?
you are welcome to side with the athlete. I would still side with the law enforcement men/women because I know how difficult it is to go out there and have folks shooting at you, land mines set in marijuana patches, punk kids spitting on you, and smart aleck celebrities saying the same things this guy said. But, I did think.
I'll cut the cop some slack on the issue of the "big deal jock" just as soon as I find out that the cop even knew he was a professional athlete. Which is a fact not in evidence on this thread. All we know about that is that the headline identifies the driver that way - and we immediately understand that that "angle" promotes the publicity value of the story to the newspaper. Otherwise, the story conceivably might have fallen on the "cutting room floor."I'm also not offended that the Moats family wonders out loud about racism. Just how much of a jerk do you think you can be to any black without making them wonder about that? By the time the officials came out of the hospital to back up Ryan Moats' story it was time and past time for this cop to cut his losses. Even if Ryan Moats somehow (how?) knew that it wasn't racial, the cop was just begging for the subject to be raised.
We whites have enough on our plate, without somebody behaving like that and expecting us to back him up. No thanks, I'll pass.
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