Dallas police: Officer drew gun during traffic stop of NFL play...

WHATEVER YOU MUST BE A COP!! PLEASE, THE CHIEF DID THE RIGHT THING. PUT THE OFFICER ON LEAVE. HE VIEWED THE VIDEO TAPE AND IT WAS WRONG OF THE OFFICER TO KEEP HIM THAT LONG & HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW PASSED IN THAT 13 MINUTES THIS **** HOLE KEPT HIM OUTSIDE WAITING. IF IT WAS ME I WOULD OF WENT IN TO THE HOSPITAL ANYWAY!!!!!!!

Yeah and I would have arrested you for obstructing. You are a bleeding heart liberal and a cop hater (obviously). You put no blame on the occupants in the vehicle for jumping out of the car. Where they really going to the hospital, or trying to avoid the cop cause of a felony murder warrant, the cop did not know this.

If you didnt know two motor cops were shot last week in Oakland when a guy exited his car and shot the cops. But I guess your right we cops dont have the right to protect ourselfs while protecting you people who hate us but we still do because we are true professionals.

JIm8349 wrote:

OH no....not another professional athlete not given VIP treatment. But here are my questions:
1) How many speeders make up excuses (i.e., lie to the police) why they "had to" speed?
2) How does a policeman tell the difference, on the spot, between a liar and someone with a legitmate reason to break the law (wait a minute...is there a legitamate reason to breaki the law, speed and risk the lives of innocent people?)
3) How does a policeman tell the difference, on the spot, between a distraugtht person and a drug crazed madman ?
4) And another thing, last I heard breast cancer does not strike without warning nor does the "end" come out of the blue. If they were so converned with their mother's health maybe they should have been at her bedside all along.

1. Well considering that this guy was not speeding and was pulled over for running a redlight with hazards on in a HOSPITAL parking lot its not a great stretch to assume its an emergency.
2. A legitimate reason is an emergency, they were at the hospital and nurses and security guards came out to back the story of the NFL player yet the officer still chose to ignore the situation.
3. Well considering that the person was not alone and in the parking lot of a hospital its not a stretch to assume they were there for an emergency.
4. News flash moron nobody thought Natasha Richardson's head injury was a big deal, people turn for the worse very quickly and its not that hard to deduce that someone is fading quickly.

Basically every argument you just made for the officers actions is pathetic. He should be fired and you should be ashamed. Get some compassion.

This officer's actions are just one example of why the public has begun to mistrust law enforcement in general.

The arrogance of those who would defend this officer's behaviour is appalling. Imagine the indignation you would scream to the world-likely with an attorney at your side-if you received such treatment under ANY circumstances, much less as you were going to the deathbed of a loved one.

DapperDave wrote:

Hhhhhhmmmmm...
Let's cogitate on this for a moment.
- The car was pulled over in hospital parking area - virtually at the emergency room door.
- The driver and other family members explained to the officer they were trying to get to the dying mother's/stepmother's bedside before she expired.
- Another officer and hospital staff tried to reason with the officer.
Lastly, even the Police Chief of the Dallas PD has publicly stated the officer badly mishandled this situtation, AND the ticket written by this empty-headed, unfeeling, "by-the-book" simpleton has been dismissed.
Yet, we have an assortment of warped, deranged nutbags, imbeciles, hate-mongers and people who are just flat-out ignorant loudly proclaiming the officer did nothing wrong.
When reading these "the officer was right" posts you're left staring at the screen and wondering "Can anyone really be this stupid?"
Indescribable idiocy!!

Well said! I agree with you and have indeed been asking that same question!

AMEN TO THIS.........

I could not believe his behavior. I'm a retired Patrol Sergeant in Connecticut, and my officers have been in these situations. I was even stopped myself when rushing to the hospital where my dad was dying. Sure, his initial caution was excusable. But he pulled into a hospital parking lot, NOT a dark alley. A young girl was the first one out of the vehicle. Somewhere in there his common sense, if he had any, would have kicked in, and he could see that this was not a criminal situation. He appeared to be baiting Mr. Moats. He could have said go ahead, but I'm going to come in and give you the ticket. There were many things he could have done. He chose to be a complete a..... uhhh...jerk.
I hope that the video, when presented at the academy, will be titled "A former officer's inappropriate actions when compassion was the right call."

This is especially upsetting to me right now, because my brother is on life support. He is not coming out of it. To read this is just UGLY on so many levels.

Not only will it help in the academy, but there are many officers out here now who would do well to see this and learn from it at Roll Call.

And their sergeants/supervisors would do well to make it known that they expect their officers to show compassion, and that everyone is not a criminal. Compassion and respect.

Thank you.

Maurice C. Jennings
Bloomfield CT Police Department

Yeah and get your cops killed, for being compassionate. There is a time for compassion and the tone these occupants set was not the time for compassion. If their story was not true and they were murders this cop could have been killed.

Compassion gets cops killed, I do agree after the story was verified that the cop could have let the subjects go into the hospital this is the appropriate time for compassion not when the cop is being berated by numerous people.

Surprised you made it to retirement.

Shut the hell-up? What if it was your mother under these condition, you probably would have done the same thing with prividege?

real nice red wrote:

Oh, the compassion. I agree, this wouldn't get any kind of press if it hadn't happened to an NFL player, but what this officer did was wrong. Yes, Moats ran a red light at midnight when no one was around. But to pull someone over in a HOSPITAL PARKING LOT for running a red light?? Watch the tape - the officer never asked what the problem was, or if there was a medical emergency.
This cop was a bully, and he got caught. Now he's on paid vacation pending an investigation.

There is only one thing law enforcement officers will ever understand.that is people who give it back to them.That does not happen. Every one of us is either pushed or embarrassed to their point of view. Last week in Oakland a scum bag gave them a taste of what they dish out to the citizen. Most cops are good people. The remaining cops are slugs. And it is not a few. It is a good percentage. May freedom fighters have the courage to challenge the fascism enveloping our nation when called upon. May God give them his support in a nation that is now so sad when it was so great at one time. We do not know right from wrong. That is a recipe for disaster.

Unless I've missed an update to the story, I have 1 question??? What time was this family member pronounced dead??? Was she already dead when they arrived? Did she die 2 hours later and they still got a chance to say goodbye?? No that it matters though because the officer did not do anything wrong, However, that being said....
I would have taken the following steps:
1-driver provides a D/L to me before he goes into hospital
2-He gets patted down for weapons/contraband-not because of his race, but because of their unusual behavior
3-I walk to the room with him to verify the story
4-I use my discretion if he gets ticketed or not
Worst thing about this, is that his own Chief publicly said the officer was wrong. Paramount on any traffic stop is the Officers Safety. Next time the officer has an unusual situation will he second guess himself and be afraid of taking the proper actions? If I was this cop, I would never do another traffic stop for my career, not out of fear of the actual stop, but because I do not know if my own supervisors would support me
Finally a sensible comment AMEN!!

Ossifer wrote:

<quoted text>
Unless I've missed an update to the story, I have 1 question??? What time was this family member pronounced dead??? Was she already dead when they arrived? Did she die 2 hours later and they still got a chance to say goodbye?? No that it matters though because the officer did not do anything wrong, However, that being said....
I would have taken the following steps:
1-driver provides a D/L to me before he goes into hospital
2-He gets patted down for weapons/contraband-not because of his race, but because of their unusual behavior
3-I walk to the room with him to verify the story
4-I use my discretion if he gets ticketed or not
Worst thing about this, is that his own Chief publicly said the officer was wrong. Paramount on any traffic stop is the Officers Safety. Next time the officer has an unusual situation will he second guess himself and be afraid of taking the proper actions? If I was this cop, I would never do another traffic stop for my career, not out of fear of the actual stop, but because I do not know if my own supervisors would support me

Of course the officer was wrong. You very logically spelled out an alternative course of action that would have been acceptable. Yet, you somehow want to excuse the officer. He used very, very poor judgement and abused the power of his badge. This particular officer and this incident do not deserve support from his superiors. In fact, it should be used as a training video on what NOT to do in this type of situation. A healthy dose of common sense would have led the officer to a different course of action.

I'm shocked at the criticism that the cop is getting for this:

1) Driver leads a cop on a chase
2) Everyone jumps out of the car and trying to get away (possibly to get rid of evidence of a crime as far as the officer is concerned)
3) Driver jumps out and starts yelling matter-of factly, "Seriously, you're going to try to stop me for breaking the law right now?"
4) You're in Dallas

Have you ever seen an episode of COPS where anyone met any of the above criteria and the officer didn't find clear evidence of a crime? Moats started the conversation by being a dick, and the officer responded in kind.

If you want to make it about race, then I'd say that white people usually have respect for the law and police officers and that's why this sort of thing doesn't happen to them. The fact that Moats is black didn't factor into the officer's actions, even though it was clearly a contributing factor to his own actions.

What you do to other, it will always come back at ya! Do unto other what you would like someone do to you.

Jude74 wrote:

<quoted text>
1. Well considering that this guy was not speeding and was pulled over for running a redlight with hazards on in a HOSPITAL parking lot its not a great stretch to assume its an emergency.
2. A legitimate reason is an emergency, they were at the hospital and nurses and security guards came out to back the story of the NFL player yet the officer still chose to ignore the situation.
3. Well considering that the person was not alone and in the parking lot of a hospital its not a stretch to assume they were there for an emergency.
4. News flash **** nobody thought Natasha Richardson's head injury was a big deal, people turn for the worse very quickly and its not that hard to deduce that someone is fading quickly.
Basically every argument you just made for the officers actions is pathetic. He should be fired and you should be ashamed. Get some compassion.

su par wrote:

There is only one thing law enforcement officers will ever understand.that is people who give it back to them.That does not happen. Every one of us is either pushed or embarrassed to their point of view. Last week in Oakland a scum bag gave them a taste of what they dish out to the citizen. Most cops are good people. The remaining cops are slugs. And it is not a few. It is a good percentage. May freedom fighters have the courage to challenge the fascism enveloping our nation when called upon. May God give them his support in a nation that is now so sad when it was so great at one time. We do not know right from wrong. That is a recipe for disaster.

Are you kidding me, you must have had to much sun in Florida.

You agree with the scumbag in Oakland shooting the cops. You ought to be shot youself for making that comment. Even though you are a cop hater we would still be there to protect you if you needed us because we are professionals.

Get a life!!

This officer is a really sick man, he has no heart, and I wonder if he would happy if another officer treated him the same way. The Dallas police dept. should be really ashamed. I will never live in Dallas with this ugly, sadistic, uncouth display!

The officer is just on a major power trip and is a complete idiot. Granted he was doing his job, however he could have done his job much better by using common sense and compasion. Also this NFL player was not let go because he was an NFL player. I don't recall ever hearing Moats pull the whole, "Do you know who I am" crap. Ryan Moats was robbed the chance to say his last goodbye to his mother-in-law, which many people never get the opportunity to do. So when that opportunity comes up, one would only be so smart as to utilize the opportunity. To everyone that doesn't have any compasion for the Moats family and Ryan Moats especially, I would really like to know what kind of human you are. Put yourself in his shoes.

James Sunny wrote:

This officer is a really sick man, he has no heart, and I wonder if he would happy if another officer treated him the same way. The Dallas police dept. should be really ashamed. I will never live in Dallas with this ugly, sadistic, uncouth display!

You need to watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch...

Nothing surprising here. Typical of most American cops.

If this is how this officer deal with a traffic stop in light of OVERWHELMING evidence of it being a special circumstance imagine how he would treat you or I?

Funny how most people are commenting and still haven't seen the video or even really read the article in some cases.

At no point did Moats ever even mention that he was an NFL player; this came to light because the other officer on the scene who was from another jurisdiction told his commander about it who then contacted the Dallas Police.

Even given the horrific incident in Oakland this officer was wrong because after 5 minutes hospital employees started coming down to tell him that the situation was factual and dire. He didn't care.

He should be fired. Now. Instead of enjoying a paid vacation, this punk should be flipping burgers at Mickey D's.

Of course, there are people out there who will defend any cop for any action--even the lush who beat up the female bartender here for refusing to serve him any more booze. That's really what casts a shadow over the majority of good cops.