You really can't win..
The guy isnt trying to get back in his car. He is trying to get inside the hospital. No one is saying he shouldnt be fined for running the red light but the police officer could use some common sense and deal with the ticket later. He also could have followed to verify the story.
Placing a mindless red light above human intelligence in the wee hours of the morning is socialist - statist insanity.
Any experienced cop would have simply said “carry on.”
Police around here would escort them to the hospital.
Another apologetic written for a tyrannical State. This crap goes on every night in every big city in this country and everybody just thinks it’s just fine. Take a look at the give and take. Do you really think the officer had no alternatives given they were in walking distance of the Hospital. He could have escorted them. But the day we the people empowered overlords for ourselves this is what we get. Soft tyranny. I say end it and de-fund the State, but I know that 99.9% of my neighbors don’t trust THEMSELVES to be good citizens, much less me. Take a look at the transcript:
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.
They were in a hospital parking lot. A nurse came out and said the MIL was coding and could they please let him come upstairs. Ya think that maybe, just maybe, the cop could have waited? Or issued a warning and let him go be with his family and dying mother in law? Yes, the driver was lucky he didn’t hit anyone running the light. But he didn’t speed off, he didn’t hit anyone, he didn’t fail a sobriety test. You can play what-ifs all day, but that isn’t what happened. I mean, the cop ran the red light too, what-if he’d hit the car with the mom and infant....
Actually Moats came to a stop at the redlight and then proceeded. Moats did almost everything right and the cop did almost everything wrong.