Officer Robert Powell

As a law enforcement officer, I am very disappointed in Officer Powell's actions concerning the traffic stop of Ryan Moats. In my opinion, Officer Powell should be fired and I hope that Ryan Moats files a lawsuit against the Dallas Police Department.

Officer Powell displayed very poor judgement and absolutely no compassion for a fellow human being. I am not sure that race played a factor into this situation but with Officer Powell's actions, I think that would be a very logical question to ask. If one of our officers did this, he would be suspended without pay pending outcome of internal investigation and then most likely fired!

It is only a matter of time before Officer Powell's poor judgement ends an innocent life. He should be removed from the Dallas Police Department force and stripped of his police certification. He is a danger to the citizens of the great State of Texas. He is power hungry and shows he obviously enjoys having the authority to ruin someone's night if they challenge him in any way. His threats crossed the line and he should be ashamed of himself. The other officers of the Dallas Police Department should be ashamed of him, and the citizens of the community he serves should be ashamed of him.

Shame on you Officer Robert Powel for exercising extremely poor judgement and for robbing Ryasn Moats of the oppotunity to say his final goodbye to a family member. May this situation never happen to you or one of your family members but you know what the say.....Karma is a B*tch!

I find it a shame that Officer Powell is taking such heat. 13 minutes is not unusual for receiving a ticket. I am a law enforcement officer in Florida. I doubt if it is much different in Texas where we hear excuses ALL THE TIME. I did not see the video, however I know that when someone does not stop for me, two people get out of a car and are emotional, and in this case for very good reason, I do not know what is going on. I am going to take all measures to ensure I GO HOME at night.

Your chief should be ashamed of himself for lambasting the officer as he did. If Powell did nothing and said "Oh I'm sorry, please go ahead on in" and the guy had a gun and shot up the ER, Powell would have been BBQed for failing to take action.

Get real guys, put the blame on the media for inflamatory reporting, put the blame on the VIOLATOR who was speeding and REFUSING TO STOP, put the blame on the passenger who would not listen, blame your chief for the cowardly way out smearing Powell all over the press.

This would have never gotten any media attention if it were not for who the VIOLATOR was. Let a non biased investigation be conducted and, last time I looked, an officer is allowed to act based on the facts KNOWN AT THE TIME, if he did no wrong, clear his name and make a public apology. If department policy was violated, then so be it and act accordingly. Now is not the time to crucify him, let Powell have due process.

I’m sad to hear that you are a police officer at all, and even more because you work in Florida. Police work is all about judgment and common sense. We can’t overreact to every situation we encounter, and then justify it because we are afraid of being challenged. Common sense should have prevailed in this situation and we wouldn’t be having this discussion. You don’t write someone a traffic ticket because they are rushing to the hospital to watch a family member die.

Moreover, I wouldn’t exactly be proud of the fact that it takes you over 13 minutes to write a red light ticket. Police work is very dangerous and we all took that oath despite having this knowledge. We all raised our right hand and promised to protect and serve the community in which we are employed. The day you lose your empathy, sympathy, and compassion for the public in my opinion, is the day you should find something else to do!

I find it a shame that Officer Powell is taking such heat. 13 minutes is not unusual for receiving a ticket. I am a law enforcement officer in Florida. I doubt if it is much different in Texas where we hear excuses ALL THE TIME. I did not see the video, however I know that when someone does not stop for me, two people get out of a car and are emotional, and in this case for very good reason, I do not know what is going on. I am going to take all measures to ensure I GO HOME at night.

Your chief should be ashamed of himself for lambasting the officer as he did. If Powell did nothing and said "Oh I'm sorry, please go ahead on in" and the guy had a gun and shot up the ER, Powell would have been BBQed for failing to take action.

Get real guys, put the blame on the media for inflamatory reporting, put the blame on the VIOLATOR who was speeding and REFUSING TO STOP, put the blame on the passenger who would not listen, blame your chief for the cowardly way out smearing Powell all over the press.

This would have never gotten any media attention if it were not for who the VIOLATOR was. Let a non biased investigation be conducted and, last time I looked, an officer is allowed to act based on the facts KNOWN AT THE TIME, if he did no wrong, clear his name and make a public apology. If department policy was violated, then so be it and act accordingly. Now is not the time to crucify him, let Powell have due process.

I am a Police Officer myself for the State of Florida and I am Absolutely sickened to hear about your COWARDLY, POLITICAL Chief of Police David Kunkle and how he sided with the Rich Football Player and family, by scolding the Active Patrol Officer, who is merely doing his job, by attempting to perform his duties by trying to stop a vehicle who was occupied by people who at that moment, were committing many traffic violations in his presence.

Does this Chief care soo much about his appointed position and apeacing the community, that he is tying the hands of his Officers by telling them, that any one who claims to have an emergency, to let them go, to avoid a complaint. Chief its time to retire, because you have lost touch with reality and you think like a politician.

Has the Chief seen the news lately, how a single man killed 4 Oakland Officers. In this Dallas case the Officer had several people who were fleeing, speeding, disregarding traffic control devices, endangering the public with their wrecklessness, then refusing to comply, by walking away from him, argueing with him and flat out giving him a hard time.

As a Police officer involved in a lot of Traffic Stops, I have noticed that the majority of the public lies to avoid getting a ticket, unfortunately that was not the case here. The only thing that the Officer should have done differently was just to have the driver wait and let the others go, while he wrote this person a few tickets.

Officer Powell, you did nothing wrong, God Bless You...

I am a Police Officer myself for the State of Florida and I am Absolutely sickened to hear about your COWARDLY, POLITICAL Chief of Police David Kunkle and how he sided with the Rich Football Player and family, by scolding the Active Patrol Officer, who is merely doing his job, by attempting to perform his duties by trying to stop a vehicle who was occupied by people who at that moment, were committing many traffic violations in his presence.

Does this Chief care soo much about his appointed position and apeacing the community, that he is tying the hands of his Officers by telling them, that any one who claims to have an emergency, to let them go, to avoid a complaint. Chief its time to retire, because you have lost touch with reality and you think like a politician.

Has the Chief seen the news lately, how a single man killed 4 Oakland Officers. In this Dallas case the Officer had several people who were fleeing, speeding, disregarding traffic control devices, endangering the public with their wrecklessness, then refusing to comply, by walking away from him, argueing with him and flat out giving him a hard time.

As a Police officer involved in a lot of Traffic Stops, I have noticed that the majority of the public lies to avoid getting a ticket, unfortunately that was not the case here. The only thing that the Officer should have done differently was just to have the driver wait and let the others go, while he wrote this person a few tickets.

Officer Powell, you did nothing wrong, God Bless You... I am a law enforcement officer also and i agree with your post. This is suv refused to stop after lights and sirens. When it does stop the officer is out numbered, and the persons inside refuse to obey the officers commands. We just had four fellow police officers shot the other day. Moates was very un cooperative and got loud with this officer. How could powell not know he was going to be ambushed, or was being set up. I did not hear Powell use profanity or become un professional. You might have not agreed morally with Powell for issuing a ticket, but that is is decision. So if he killed another driver while running the light, we would not charge him because he was going to see a dying relative. Chief you just weakened all of law enforcement today. The public already hates us, but now we have to apoligize for doing our job. Officer Powell i would call the Houstons Texans and the NFL and make a complaint against the player. Number one for breaking the law, and showing he has no reguard for authority

As a citizen of Florida I'm not the least bit surprised to see power tripping FL LEO's in here defending Powells actions. Pay them no mind, the unprofessional crap they pull down here and get away with make officer Powell look like a gentleman. :oops:

Having actually watched the video I think think Powells handling of the incident was unprofessional and uncalled for. He failed to exercise reasonable discretion and made threats that he should be reprimanded for.

The excuses being made above for his actions, by someone who admitted hasn't even reviewed the video is a load of crap!

DALLAS — Racing to see his dying mother-in-law at a Plano hospital, an NFL player found himself delayed by a Dallas officer as her life ebbed away. It's a story that has sparked outrage across North Texas and generated interest around the country.

Dallas police Chief David Kunkle faced reporters Thursday afternoon to express his embarrassment over the incident and to publicly apologize to the family. He said the officer involved failed to use common sense. Officer Robert Powell, a three-year veteran, has been placed on leave facing internal charges of misconduct.

It all started in the early morning hours of March 17. With his wife and another woman in the car, Ryan Moats — a running back for the Houston Texans — sped his car toward Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano. But when the Moats arrived at the emergency room parking lot, they were stopped by Officer Robert Powell, who reportedly drew his service revolver on the concerned family members.

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," Tamisha Moats replied.

She and the other woman ignored Officer Powell's commands and rushed inside the hospital to her dying 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.. "I certainly hope anybody who saw the videotape immediately understood how serious the misconduct is," Chief Kunkle said Thursday afternoon. "I don't know how you train for these circumstances other than to hire people with good common sense and people skills."

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."

"My understanding is that Officer Powell — even after he saw the videotape — believed he had not acted inappropriately," Chief Kunkle said, a view that was underscored by Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson, who reviewed the tape with Officer Powell on Wednesday.

"His belief was simply that he was doing his job," Chief Simpson said. "It did concern me that it just seemed that the compassion was not there."
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 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.

"The essence of being a police officer is common sense and discretion," Chief Kunkle added. "I can't imagine a worse circumstance."

WFAA.com has received over 1,000 comments comments about the incident since the story first aired on Channel 8 Wednesday night.

WFAA.com staff editors Marjorie Owens and Walt Zwirko contributed to this report.

Officer Powell, under national scrutiny, now regrets he didn't exercise better judgment.


Robert Powell, through his attorneys Bob Gorsky and Christopher Livingston of Lyon, Gorsky, Haring & Gilbert, LLP, has authorized the release of this statement:

"I wish to publicly and sincerely apologize to the Moats family, my colleagues in the Dallas Police Department, and to all those who have been rightfully angered by my actions on March 18, 2009. After stopping Mr. Moats' vehicle, I showed poor judgment and insensitivity to Mr. Moats and his family by my words and actions. With great remorse I accept my responsibility for adding to their grief in an already difficult time.
I have attempted to reach Mr. Moats to express my personal condolences directly to his family and my regret about my actions. While these efforts have been unsuccessful so far, I hope we can talk soon.

Again, I am very sorry for what I did and ask for the forgiveness of all those touched by these unfortunate events."

Whoever said this was only news because of who Moats is, they're correct, but that doesn't justify Powells actions. Officers are all to quick to exercise their discretion when it's another officers family involved, but anyone else and they suddenly have no discretion in the matter. Shut up and find your insurance card or i'm going to have your car towed. shut up and do exactly what i say...i'm going to screw you over!

As a citizen of Florida I'm not the least bit surprised to see power tripping FL LEO's in here defending Powells actions. Pay them no mind, the unprofessional crap they pull down here and get away with make officer Powell look like a gentleman. :oops:

Having actually watched the video I think think Powells handling of the incident was unprofessional and uncalled for. He failed to exercise reasonable discretion and made threats that he should be reprimanded for.

The excuses being made above for his actions, by someone who admitted hasn't even reviewed the video is a load of crap!


Coming from a liberal and anti police person like yourself, it doesn't surprize me to hear your comments.
Then in your unexperienced opinion, how would you sugest he'd handle that situation.......Oh Mr NFL player, it is ok that you flamboyantly disregarded the law, did what ever you wanted to do go ahead and leave with just a warning now.......Since you' rich and popular.
The Officer was a gentleman and he handled the situation proffessionally, they were the ones that were outraged.
If he loved his mother in law soo much he should have been at the hospital sleeping next to her, rather than going about his bussiness and when he heard the call. drive like an ass hole.

I am a police office in Florida as well. I have 28 years on the job. After watching the video and listening to the conversations I can't see how ANYONE with ANY common sense can justify this behavior by this officer. His four ways are flashing, he stops at the red lights and when there is NO TRAFFIC he proceeds, he pulls into a HOSPITAL parking lot. Everyone is excited trying to tell him the situation. You have his DL. Escort him inside and verify what the man is telling you. You are a freaking IDIOT and I only hope they FIRE your ass because you have no common sense and do not deserve to be police officer ANYWHERE. Dallas guys you owe this retard a "blanket party" on his way out the door. He may be a nice guy but he makes all of us in Law Enforcement look bad.

I am a police office in Florida as well. I have 28 years on the job. After watching the video and listening to the conversations I can't see how ANYONE with ANY common sense can justify this behavior by this officer. His four ways are flashing, he stops at the red lights and when there is NO TRAFFIC he proceeds, he pulls into a HOSPITAL parking lot. Everyone is excited trying to tell him the situation. You have his DL. Escort him inside and verify what the man is telling you. You are a freaking IDIOT and I only hope they FIRE your ass because you have no common sense and do not deserve to be police officer ANYWHERE. Dallas guys you owe this retard a "blanket party" on his way out the door. He may be a nice guy but he makes all of us in Law Enforcement look bad.


MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.......Its easy to sit back and critisize someone ........................
FIRE HIM, (WHAT A DICTATOR YOU MUST BE).
I imagine that NEVER in your 28 years, Did you have anyone lie to you, The Officer did not use any foul lenguage nor did he beat anyone. Hey buddy I think its time for you to come out from behind the desk and retire, you are too quick to judge the Officer, who was merely doing his job...........I belive this Officer should leave that Dept. who does not support its Officers and go work for a Dept. that appreciates an active, go getter type Police Officer.... Reckless drivers and people who have no respect for Traffic control devices as well Police lights and sirens are a menece to society.
Officer Robert Powell, I thank you for making the streets safe.

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.......Its easy to sit back and critisize someone ........................

especially when there's dashcam video of the entire incident. :wink:



Reckless drivers and people who have no respect for Traffic control devices as well Police lights and sirens are a menece to society.
Officer Robert Powell, I thank you for making the streets safe.

Thanks, i needed a good laugh today! Talk about Monday morning quarterbacking...

What i see in the dashcam video is a large SUV with it's four way flashers on proceeding with caution through intersections and stop signs. Nice try though... to bad you come across as nothing more then a semi literate punk. Go back to school and leave the police work to someone else.

I belive this Officer should leave that Dept. who does not support its Officers and go work for a Dept. that appreciates an active, go getter type Police Officer.
I hear Wackenhut is hiring. Seems like he would be a good fit too.

I'm not surprised to see Florida on here in such numbers. The overwhelming support has been FOR Powell on our boards. I guess we take a stronger stance against those who show total disregard for public safety and the efforts of a LEO to effect a traffic stop.

I question why the family waited until the last minute to make the trip to the hospital to be at the side of a dying relative. Shouldn't they have been there for hours if not days prior to the death? I think that's what most people do so perhaps the lack of common sense is on the part of the family.

WE SUPPORT POWELL

I'm not surprised to see Florida on here in such numbers. The overwhelming support has been FOR Powell on our boards. I guess we take a stronger stance against those who show total disregard for public safety and the efforts of a LEO to effect a traffic stop.

I still haven't seen the part of the video where Moats shows "total disregard for public safety". He has his 4 way flashers on, isn't driving like a lunatic, and proceeds with caution though intersections and stop signs. Officer Powell on the other hand, who witnessed Moats run a red light from 500~600 feet away was more reckless about the two red lights he ran trying to catch up to Moats.


I question why the family waited until the last minute to make the trip to the hospital to be at the side of a dying relative. Shouldn't they have been there for hours if not days prior to the death? I think that's what most people do so perhaps the lack of common sense is on the part of the family.

WE SUPPORT POWELL

I question what kind of a..hole would Monday morning quarterback a terminal medical situation they know nothing about. I've been by the side of my mother as she was in hospice for a week waiting to die and even though i spent a great deal of time there, got next to no sleep and tried to do everything i could for her i still wasn't there at the moment she passed away.

Your all to typical of the officers down here in FL. Defend your brothers in blue no matter what their conduct and blame the victim for what happened. Your a first class douche.

Why Powell would continue to demand to see an insurance card and write a ticket even as nurses and another police officer pleaded with him to lets Moats go inside...it just isn't defend able. He witnessed Moats proceeding with caution and it was obvious at that point, even to a power tripping a..hole, that Moats was at the hospital for legitimate reasons and it was a time critical situation. Powell had ample discretion to let moats go in at that point. As an officer you know damned well that you guys use your discretion for more serious offenses then this all the time.

What it all comes down to is this, Powell has the kind of personality that if he perceives you've disrespected his authority in the slightest he's going to screw you over for it. A trait he shares with to many of the butt heads who call themselves cops down here in FL. No wonder you support him.

I say give him due process then rightfully fire his power tripping ass for his actions. During these tough economic times there are plenty of good experienced cops and new cadets alike who would love to fill his position at DPD. Loose this sorry excuse for a f..kup and bring one of them on board instead.

I'm not surprised to see Florida on here in such numbers. The overwhelming support has been FOR Powell on our boards. I guess we take a stronger stance against those who show total disregard for public safety and the efforts of a LEO to effect a traffic stop.

I still haven't seen the part of the video where Moats shows "total disregard for public safety". He has his 4 way flashers on, isn't driving like a lunatic, and proceeds with caution though intersections and stop signs. Officer Powell on the other hand, who witnessed Moats run a red light from 500~600 feet away was more reckless about the two red lights he ran trying to catch up to Moats.


I question why the family waited until the last minute to make the trip to the hospital to be at the side of a dying relative. Shouldn't they have been there for hours if not days prior to the death? I think that's what most people do so perhaps the lack of common sense is on the part of the family.

WE SUPPORT POWELL

I question what kind of a..hole would Monday morning quarterback a terminal medical situation they know nothing about. I've been by the side of my mother as she was in hospice for a week waiting to die and even though i spent a great deal of time there, got next to no sleep and tried to do everything i could for her i still wasn't there at the moment she passed away.

Your all to typical of the officers down here in FL. Defend your brothers in blue no matter what their conduct and blame the victim for what happened. Your a first class douche.

Why Powell would continue to demand to see an insurance card and write a ticket even as nurses and another police officer pleaded with him to lets Moats go inside...it just isn't defend able. He witnessed Moats proceeding with caution and it was obvious at that point, even to a power tripping a..hole, that Moats was at the hospital for legitimate reasons and it was a time critical situation. Powell had ample discretion to let moats go in at that point. As an officer you know damned well that you guys use your discretion for more serious offenses then this all the time.

What it all comes down to is this, Powell has the kind of personality that if he perceives you've disrespected his authority in the slightest he's going to screw you over for it. A trait he shares with to many of the butt heads who call themselves cops down here in FL. No wonder you support him.

I say give him due process then rightfully fire his power tripping ass for his actions. During these tough economic times there are plenty of good experienced cops and new cadets alike who would love to fill his position at DPD. Loose this sorry excuse for a f..kup and bring one of them on board instead.

Zach Thomas' Wife Claims Police Mistreatment

The wife of a Cowboys football player has spoken up about an incident she had with a Dallas police officer who made headlines last week after he detained Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats as he was rushing to see his dying mother-in-law.
Maritza Thomas, the wife of linebacker Zach Thomas, said she was pulled over by Dallas police officer Robert Powell last July after she made an illegal U-turn.
Thomas said during the stop, Powell cited her for failure to show proof of insurance, having an improper address on a driver's license, not having a registration sticker on the windshield, running a red light and making the illegal U-turn. She said she tried to explain to Powell that her insurance and other paperwork were in her apartment which was about five minutes away from where they were, but he refused to listen. Thomas said she was handcuffed and taken to jail.

Four of the charges were eventually dropped and Thomas accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge.

"This situation never should've happened," Thomas' attorney, Brody Shanklin, told The Dallas News. "Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, no person should be arrested for a Class C citation. In this case, it was an example of Officer Powell being overzealous and exerting his authority in a manner that he never should have."

Not so, according to Bob Gorsky who represents Powell.

"I do understand that an arrest on multiple traffic charges happens often and is absolutely proper under these circumstances," Gorsky said. "Often, when there are multiple charges, an arrest made and bond posted, some of the charges from a single event are later dropped."

After the arrest, Thomas said she and her husband considered filing a complaint against Powell but declined because they didn't want to make 'a scene'. However, they plan to file one now.

And you thought Powell was insensitive, read on:

06/14/2006
Miami police Lt. Armando Bello was in the Florida Keys when he got word that his son, a 27-year-old Miami-Dade police officer, was critically injured in an off-duty, one-car crash at 5:45 a.m. Saturday. Bello jumped into his car and was racing north on U.S. 1, headed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, when he got stopped for speeding by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Bello, 49, told Trooper Jose Burgos the circumstances. Burgos didn't believe him. So he wrote Bello a ticket. That was at 7:11 a.m.

What Bello didn't know was that doctors at JMH's Ryder Trauma Center had just pronounced his son dead at 7:08 a.m.

FHP Lt. Col. Rick Gregory said the brass are reviewing the traffic ticket situation. ''Our concern is the sensitivity and discretion issue,'' Gregory said.

Burgos, 26, a trooper for three years, lives in Homestead and patrols upper Monroe County on the day shift. He was driving to work in his marked black-and-yellow cruiser when a motorist flagged him down to report a ''reckless driver,'' Capt. Jaime Picanol said Tuesday.

Burgos saw Bello ''passing, changing lanes, at a very high rate of speed,'' Picanol said. The trooper clocked Bello's Mercedes with radar and pulled him over at mile marker 118. Bello said he was a policeman and that he had a gun in the car. ''`My son has been involved in a serious crash,'' he told Burgos, according to Picanol. ``He's been airlifted.''

Burgos, who had watched the TV morning news, ''didn't hear anything about it,'' Picanol said. ``He didn't give it much credibility, so he wrote him a ticket.''

Bello, a 26-year Miami Police Department veteran now assigned to the communications section, once worked motorcycle patrol, doing traffic and DUI enforcement.

The junior Bello was a finalist for the Dade County Police Benevolent Association's Officer of the Year award in 2005 for rescuing a driver and four children from a burning car.

So Trooper Burgos could have used his discretion to give him an escort to the hospital with reds & blues and siren and instead he f..ked him over. Yep that's Florida for you.

Reminds me of Cartman (southpark) after he's been deputized. All he does is run around screaming Respect My Authority! and clubbing people. :snicker:

Powell will cost Dallas $$$$$ with his cowboy ways if he doesn't learn. All he had to do was walk inside with his ticket book and write as he watched the mother-in-law die, or if lied to, load the liar. I was home when the hospital called that my mom had suddenly turn critical and was dying. I stopped at every red light, and looked, no traffic, I BUSTED THE LIGHT. My plan was to give any officer stopping me I D and tell him to write me at the hospital. I didn't meet an Office Powell, and was with mom when he died. The guy has no heart and someday Karma is going to slap him in the face. Those of you defending him, are wrong, he did stupid and it is on tape. But the most troubling, he did all this with the video/audio running. TALK ABOUT STUPID. Dallas, you need to check I Q's a lot better before letting them on the street.

I am a police office in Florida as well. I have 28 years on the job. After watching the video and listening to the conversations I can't see how ANYONE with ANY common sense can justify this behavior by this officer. His four ways are flashing, he stops at the red lights and when there is NO TRAFFIC he proceeds, he pulls into a HOSPITAL parking lot. Everyone is excited trying to tell him the situation. You have his DL. Escort him inside and verify what the man is telling you. You are a freaking IDIOT and I only hope they FIRE your ass because you have no common sense and do not deserve to be police officer ANYWHERE. Dallas guys you owe this retard a "blanket party" on his way out the door. He may be a nice guy but he makes all of us in Law Enforcement look bad.

I'm retired police officer from Florida and I agree with everything you said with the exception of the blanket party.

Sorry, kids, but that's what you sound like. Some of you have no clue what your job is about. If those of you defending this stop can't understand that along with your duty to enforce the law is the duty to use common sense and discretion you don't need to be wearing a badge.

Moates ran his emergency flashers. His flashers were on when the stop was initiated. How many felony offenders are going to run from you and use flashers while they're running? He pulled up to the front door to a hospital. How many felony offenders are going to stop there (don't forget, he ran a red light with his emergeny flashers activated, 4 blocks from the hospital, not running 100 mph, wife jumps out to run into the hospital when they pull up next to the door). What my fellow Florida officer failed to mention, or didn't see because he didn't watch the video, is that Moates never told the officer who he was. This had nothing to do with a rich athelete trying to use his position to get out of a ticket. It has to do with an officer using extremely poor judgement in a situation that should have been apparent to him. If it wasn't apparent in the beginning it should have been when a hospital nurse and an officer from another agency tried to tell him that the "offender" was telling the truth and that his mother in law was dying. This officer STILL detained Moates, wrote him the ticket, then proceeded to lecture him while his mother in law died.

If my fellow Florida officers don't see this, you don't need jobs either.

I'm retired police officer from Florida and I agree with everything you said with the exception of the blanket party.

Sorry, kids, but that's what you sound like. Some of you have no clue what your job is about. If those of you defending this stop can't understand that along with your duty to enforce the law is the duty to use common sense and discretion you don't need to be wearing a badge.

Well put and totally agreed with. Most of the officers commenting are probably children and are no more ready to patrol the streets then Powell. In police work discretion is the key, and here in Florida as a rule we don’t write other policemen, their family members, or EMS personnel unless the offense is totally egregious. Sorry running a red light with your hazards on, does not qualify.
What’s worse, they pulled up to the front door of a hospital and this idiot never asked if they were having some type of emergency. I guess if they had a sick or injured child inside of the car, he would have let them lay there and die while he wrote a ticket. Right is right and wrong is wrong and in this case, he is defiantly wrong. You guys know that, you’re just blinded by your frail egos and emotions.

.... Reckless drivers and people who have no respect for Traffic control devices as well Police lights and sirens are a menece to society.



Reckless drivers are a menace to society? So I guess rapist, murderers, pedophiles, burglars, drug dealers, and robbers are what, just slightly inconvenient? You’re an idiot at best and the sad reality, you’re probably a police officer and that is scary. I know this may shock you, but you probably get lied to everyday, it still doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show compassion in fear of it.

As a result of this debacle, the officer has resigned, his department has been disgraced and every idiot that we stop can now claim to be having some major emergency. This will now force us to waste time verifying their truthfulness just to avoid a complaint. Just had to write that ticket huh? Yeah I can see a traffic ticket being worth all that!

Bottom line is that officer Robert Powell failed to use common sense. Besides karma is a real mother in the end. The civilian did nothing wrong and did not identify himself as a football player, he only stated that he was in a hurry to his mother in law. The video speaks volumes and shows no compassion or common sense from ex officer Robert Powell.

Robert Powell, you did the right thing brother...dont let your spineless, balless political scum chief drive you down ! Mr. Football star could have been arrested for eluding and felony wreckless driving in florida....how bout that for sympathy. :twisted: The entire family of Mr. Football star should have been by the dying family member bed side instead of eating shitza elsewhere. Anyways, the grass aint greener anywhere because this career has filled up with people that were just looking for a secure pay check.

I love how the police officers here talk bad about the football players driving, yet, I constantly see police officers breaking the same traffic laws they issue citations for. I'm not talking about responding to a call, but hurrying for lunch somewhere or just being an awful driver. No wonder people hate the police.