Here’s some video you’ll probably be seeing/hearing about a lot this weekend, included in a CNN News report about the Dallas police officer who dickishly prevented NFL player Ryan Moats from seeing his mother-in-law in the moments before her death.
As you’ll see in the report, the officer has been chastised loudly and publicly by his police superiors and placed on leave pending an investigation, while the officer maintains he did everything by the book. Do life-or-death concerns trump legal concerns? Are flashing hazard lights a get-out-off-running-red-lights-free pass? Does none of this matter because the officer was clearly such a butthole? Who knows, but thanks for the heads-up, Towleroad.
It never would have been an issue had it not been a celeb, of some sort.
If it had been you David, they would have just told you tough shit.
Man. I haven’t seen the video, but I read this story yesterday. It’s one of those rare cases where the victim does everything right (aside from running the initial stop sign), making it much easier for public opinion to be on his side (which it should be). Hell, he didn’t even tell the cop he was an NFL player. Poor guy. I’m glad his wife left and went inside, although it sucks that the grandfather didn’t get in to see his daughter.
Life or death concerns should sometimes trump legal concerns, but… this wasn’t life or death. Pulling Ryan Moats over didn’t cause his mother to die.
The officer was kinda a dick, and could’ve exercised different judgment, but It’s still the officer’s job to protect the rest of us from erratic drivers.
Oooh, let’s all scream and shout because the police dared to stop and question a big NFL guy. Sports entertainers are so crucial to our way of life that they must be allowed to do as they please. There wouldn’t been a peep from CNN and the like if this guy had been some random driver.
@4—
This still would’ve been a story whether it happened to an NFL player or not.
Ryan Moats is, I believe, a third-string player on a team with a relatively small fanbase. I know I’d have still written about this, even if it had happened to a regular ol’ civilian.
@3) Protect us from erratic drivers? Someone slowly going through a red light in order to pull into a hospital parking lot, with his hazards on? And then, after they pull over, the passengers are freaking out about seeing their dying relative? If the guy can’t exercise enough judgment to see that this is not a normal moving violation / traffic stop, he doesn’t have the judgment necessary to be a cop. I’m scared of this guy having a gun and using his “judgment” on other people he doesn’t like. This looks like someone society should be protected from, not someone who is gonig to protect society.
How much time did the guy really gain by speeding? If his mother-in-law was dying in the car, I can understand it, but imagine the irony if the guy killed himself and his wife on the way to the hospital due to reckless driving.
I was shocked (in a good way) that the Dallas PD reacted as they did. They put the cop on administrative leave, canceled the ticket, and now have their nose firmly implanted in Ryan Moats’ ass. I mean, this IS Texas, right?
It was very obvious from the location of his vehicle that he wasn’t going anywhere, that whatever his claim was the officer could have easily followed him and the guy was driving an Escleade. Mother fucker doesn’t need insurance he’s rich. Show a little compassion, surely it’s not in the law but as many people have commented he was being a total dick.
“I could totally screw you over right now”
Oh no sir I don’t think you understand, you already did.
I’m surprised nobody has raised racial implications out of this episode. Some cops are a-holes simply because they can be, but there sure seemed to be a stank of racism over this one.
@5: no, it wouldn’t. NFL players are all anonymous anyways, because of all the gear they wear, and the all carry that glamor of “Cowboys” or whatever. Without the celebrity glow around this guy, he would have had to be shot and killed to make the news outside of Dallas, and probably even there.
Im pretty sure “Mason” @4 is a complete moron.
If you can’t explain to an officer the urgency of your situation and get a reasonable HUMAN response, then what’s the point? He continued to be a dick even after another officer confirmed the circumstances. Now – if he had caused an accident, then that would be different. But he exercised caution and was just trying to get his wife (and himself and others) to see her dying mother. The officer PULLED HIS GUN; people were trying to explain to him what was going on.
And yes, in these days of ubiquitous video, it would have made the news because of the circumstances, not who it happened to – just like they show other videos of inappropriate police actions to non-celeb citizens. Like the diabetic a week or two ago that police pulled out through his WINDOW . He was in diabetic shock and could not respond to them. The diabetic was no celebrity, nor was he a minority – but I know what happened to him because it made the news.
So get over yourself with all the “big NFL” crap. Geez.
Yeah, but if the cop just beat up a teenager in a King County holding cell, it’d only be in the news cycle for one day.
Fuck Texas.
@5
You may have written about this (where do you write?), but would it be all over CNN? I doubt it.
Regardless of the guy being a football player, regardless of what the media would have done had he not been a football player, and regardless of whether anyone would have apologized if he’d just been some regular Joe, the COP was a DOUCHE. A HUGE FUCKING DOUCHE.
keshmeshi: Whaaa? He wasn’t speeding. He just rolled through a stop sign with his hazards on in what looks like a hospital parking lot or next to it.
I think this would have made the news if it had been a regular old person, and not an NFL player. The cop is a dick in the video, and prevented him from seeing his dying mother-in-law. That’s the story, not the fact that he’s an NFL player.
A good friend of mine’s mom was dying in a hospital in the suburbs of Chicago — she was driving out to see her before she died and was stuck in traffic on the highway (fortunately she made it in time to see her)… She didn’t want to break any traffic laws, but I guess I just assumed that if you drove on the shoulder with your hazards and got pulled over, you could explain to the cop and they would be a human being about it. Maybe even escort you to the hospital.
It may not be life or death in that her mom was going to die anyways, but I would think that a cop would understand the situation and be able to apply some judgment.
Oops, correction. He rolled through a red light before that. Regardless, no one claimed he was speeding.
When the nurse came out to plead, this cop went from going by the book to being a heartless bastard.
The guy wasn’t going anywhere. He could have followed him to her death bed and stood there writing the ticket.
Even the other cop pleaded to let him see his dying mother in-law.
This was sicking.
That cop was a grade a asshole and no doubt race had something to do with it. Crackers are salty a black man is in the White House.
He was proably pissed a black man was in an Escalade. I bet a white man saying his mother in-law was dying would have gotten an apologey and an escort to the bedside.
My favourite line is: “Right now your attitude sucks.”
No shit.
I both detest and pity cops. They’re really nothing more than armed IRS employees who rarely have anything productive to do; however, they’re also stuck dealing with the worst pond scum of America on a daily basis, and are continually told to remain civil when dealing with worthless trash.
I would rather be a crash test dummy than a cop.
I’m going to be a bit inflammatory and admittedly do some stereotyping because people with this personality style are a huge pet peeve of mine.
It’s the philosophy of predictable, orderly structure. Blind obedience. Rules are rules. People like this tend to value discipline over thoughtfulness in their children, and tend to prefer not to think too hard themselves. They also tend to be bible literalists (I won’t speculate if one is because of the other or not). Unfortunately, law enforcement as a career draws many people like this.
I won’t say all cops are assholes, but many are. On a positive note, I am grateful for people with other motivations and philosophies who are cops.
@20,
I saw the running the red light portion so I guess I came to an erroneous conclusion. Regardless, how long does it take for a red light to change? One minute? The mother-in-law was going to die within one minute? I also can’t even begin to guess the point of rolling through a stop sign, especially once he already arrived at the hospital.
keshmeshi: Well, unfortunately, her dying within the 13 minutes the confrontation took does point to the valid reason for their haste. But I can imagine going through a red light if you’re sitting at an empty intersection waiting and freaking the fuck out.
@23 i agree. it’s tough to be a cop. almost enough so that i’m willing to cut them some slack when dealing with difficult situations.
this demonstrates a larger problem, that the cop himself articulates well: too much of law enforcement depends on the mood of the officer and the attitude of the civilian.
this officer needs to be reprimanded, and perhaps given some additional training. on the other hand, i don’t think he need be fired. we need a better way for dealing with the fact that cops have a tough job and sometimes make mistakes. the current state of having officers lie, or cover up for other cops, for fear of weighty repercussions, is not working.
Moats had hospital employees backing up his story and you had multiple cops on the scene. One cop goes in with Moats and the others stay and write a ticket. Cop should be fired.
Yeah, but kesh, can you imagine if that guy had followed all the traffic laws with his wife in the car, wanting to see her dying mother (when time was apparently of the essence)? If the mother died before they got there because the guy didn’t run a light or two, I’m guessing that might cause some relationship problems.
Cops are theoretically entrusted with the job they do because they are supposed to be able to show proper judgment in situations exactly like this. This guy should not be trusted with a gun or a badge and society is lucky that the poor judgment shown here resulted only in some frustration and a lost opportunity to see a loved one before she died. If this cop can’t respond appropriately in a relatively low-stress situation like this one, I sure as hell don’t want him in uniform in a life-or-death situation.
Cops aren’t supposed to be automatons at the mercy of the letter of the law. I’m sorry for Moats and I’m sorry that it turns out that the cop really isn’t suited to his job, but I don’t think the cop should get to stay a cop. He can’t be trusted with the responsibility.
@25 Seriously? You’re arguing that this shit should fly? Because this prick has a badge he gets a pass to act without regard for the people, football players included, who he is supposedly serving? If this is too tough of a situation for a cop to make a simple judgment call and not act like a total asshole then the bar is pretty low indeed for the men in blue. I’ll agree the cop had a right to stop him, but upon hearing the circumstances in the hospital parking lot, everything past that point is authoritarian, power-play bullshit.
@30… see… i agree entire with you except the end part about him not being qualified.
we “civilians” see police misbehavior and demand heads roll. this causes the cops to fear being caught so much that they are willing to lie to protect themselves and their fellow officers.
but cops misbehave ALL THE TIME.
i’ve come to the conclusion that i’d rather have cops who are trained better, and given less harsh reprimands as long as they are honest. because they will make mistakes. this cop needs to adjust the way he interacts with the public. given him a few chances, and then move him to some other duty without firing him.
telling cops they are not allowed to make mistakes is like telling kids they cannot have sex. instead of abstinence, we teach them to be responsible. instead of “perfection” from cops, we need to teach them to be honest, and give them the support they need to handle dealing with the worst of society, and occasional, the average or best of society.
until then, we’ll see more cases like this.
6) I meant in general. The cop was a dick for sure, and probably shouldn’t be a cop based on that behavior. Still, the dude blew it by running the light, because when you’re in a hurry, what you don’t want to do is get pulled over. I’m glad his wife got to see her mom still.
As others have pointed out, this would a different story if the situation had been the driver been trying to save a life.
What. A. Dick.
What. A. Dick.
What. A. Dick.
What. A. Dick.
What. A. Dick.
What. A. Dick.
What. A. Dick.
Not all cops are dicks. Our guy here just got unlucky. I have to give Moats credit for doing what he did the responsible way. He didn’t drive recklessly, he used his emergency flashers, and didn’t lose his shit with the cop. I would have.
@31,
No, I’m not. I’m saying that the time saved by running red lights/stop signs is negligible and is usually not warranted.
it was pretty bad when moats got the paperwork and the cop was still being a jerk…. and 15 minutes to write the ticket?
@31,
Also, what #33 said. Getting pulled over, even if the cop had been understanding, wastes more time than waiting for the light.
What’s the cop supposed to do, DWB is illegal in Texas.
I wouldn’t of received the no insurance ticket. Because: “I’m rollin’ in my Escalade,
wit’ my stinky dowgs
and my can of Glade…
…I need a witness”
Full unedited video here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/…
The cop was a complete douchenozzle. His ass needs to be fired so he can go spew superior attitude at McDonald’s for minimum wage.
Black guy + expensive car = police harassment. Every time. The cop undoubtedly figured he was a drug dealer.
Fucking cop needs to be seriously chewed a new one at the very least.
I’ve watched this twice and find it very disturbing.
I made this trip to the hospital two years ago, and my mother died. If that had been me, the cop would have been injured and I likely would have been dead.
For a ticket.
Some cops are just dicks.
After my mum had me she started hemorrhaging badly and my aunt drove her to the hospital. She made an illegal left turn and a cop pulled them over, saw my mum bleeding and made them sit there while she wrote out a ticket. Then she didn’t escort them to the hospital or anything. My mum’s doctor had a fit, and the cop got in big trouble.
But the moral of the story is some cops are jerks.
i think that that guy need to be fired and like put on probation or put in jail or someting so what if he ran a red light he didnt hurt anybody…..it was the fact that after the police officer was told his mother in law was dying he should have jus stopped righ there and wited or even went up to the room (if it was that serious, even though it wasnt)
Read the story and description several hours ago, but just now watched the video. The story and description do not do justice to what a dick this cop is.
I mean seriously: whatever arguments that could potentially be made about the wisdom of running red lights in an emergency, the cop pulled someone over in the parking lot of a hospital. That, in and of itself, is fine. The problem is that when the victim explained the situation, the cop continued to treat it as an ordinary traffic stop. Despite the obvious fact that very few people who speed into hospital parking lots are doing so for fun.
Basically, I cannot imagine myself in a situation where, were I given a badge and a gun, I would see this scene as acceptable. The officer was wrong, knew it, and pursued his tactic despite knowing better.
POLICE INTIMIDATION – BRINGS BACK MEMORIES
The police officer was definitely out of place. This incident brings back memories of racism and police intimidation. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
When I was 16 (1966), in Little Rock, ARKANSAS, I was outside playing with my (cocker spaniel) puppy in the front yard. A police officer driving by, stopped in front of our house. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him that I was playing with my puppy. At this point, the officer told me that there was an ordinance and the puppy shouldn’t be out without a leash. I reiterated that I was just playing in the yard with my puppy and that the puppy was normally in our fenced backyard. The police officer ordered me to put the puppy up. When I went to get my puppy, since we had been playing, and continuing to play, the puppy ran from me. The officer drew his gun, pointed it to my puppy, and told me, “I’ll kill him!” I was so afraid, and didn’t know what to do. He kept the gun drawn on my puppy, still threatening, telling me to put him up, and if I didn’t he would kill him. I was forced to dart in front of the officer and get my puppy while his gun was still drawn and aimed. I took the puppy into the house, listening to the officer’s reprimands that the puppy was not to be out without a leash. After I went into the house, the police officer got back in his car and drove away. I told my Mother about the incident (she was at work when it happened). She did nothing about it. During this time, there was no use in pursuing the matter, since in all likelihood, nothing would have been done about it…racism was rampant.
I feel that had I been white, this incident never would have happened. I also feel that had Moats been white, the incident would have a different outcome. That officer would have been more accommodating.
I see similarities in these incidents…both fueled by racism and authority, making victims of innocent people. What can you do, when a person in authority, sworn to protect, abuses power? I hadn’t remembered this in years, but this incident brings back memories.
This story is repeated every single day throughout all roads, highways and streets. Some police officers favorite pastime is to stop any black face they see riding a car, for whatever reason they can come up with.
Until officers like this one are not dealt with in a serious manner and until the culture of racial profiling that has infested the police departments is dismantled, this sort of tragic incident will continue to take place.
This officer not only needs to be fired without pay but needs to make a personal public plea of apology to Mr Moats, to his wife and rest of their family. I wouldn’t blame if Mr Moats doesn’t accept it.
@ 47, while I agree with everything you’ve written here, I hope you won’t mind me pointing out that it’s not very Christian of you.
They’re thinking of firing this guy – yet officers who shoot children, tazer wheel-chair bound grannies and kill unarmed, mentally ill people get a pass? W…T….F….?????
@47 – I can’t help but think that if Moats were gay, your comment would be vastly different.