Ryan Moats, You Are a Better Man Than Me...

By now we've all heard the story and probably seen the video. Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats was driving his family to the Baylor Regional Medical Center in the Dallas Suburb of Plano, to make it to see his mother-in-law as she was in critical condition. She was suffering from breast cancer, and they had been told she didn't have much time. Moats put on his hazards, and by his account rolled through a red light after making sure the way was clear. Officer Robert Powell was parked nearby and attempted to pull him over. Moats continued to drive a short distance to the hospital, as Powell pursued. As he pulled up near the entrance of the hospital, the family jumped out of the car. Officer Powell instructed them to get back in the car, but Moats wife Tamishia and another family member ran inside. Ryan Moats tried explaining the situation to Officer Powell, who over the course of the next thirteen minutes would not listen, and herein lies the controversy.

For about the first five minutes of the conversation, Mr. Moats tried in vain to explain what was going on. He could hardly get a word out, as Officer Powell told him more than once to keep his mouth shut. At one point he even told him, "I can screw you over". After a few minutes, Ryan seemed to realize that arguing was getting him nowhere, even slowing down the process. He asked that he be given his ticket so he could be on his way, which would not happen for approximately eight more minutes. As Officer Powell took his time writing the citation, Moats mother-in-law, 45 year old Jonetta Collinsworth, passed away with her daughter by her side.

As I watched the unedited video of the incident, I couldn't help but be amazed at the lack of compassion Officer Powell exhibited. As well the lack of common sense. The situation was explained to the officer multiple times, and he refused to acknowledge it even once. A family member was dying, he did everything in his power to get there safely, but none of that mattered to the 25 year old officer. He stated that he should have pulled over when he saw the lights, and seemed determined to let Moats know that he was in charge. He didn't stop to think that perhaps the reason why someone might be driving to the hospital, of all places, with hazard lights on, was that there quite possibly was an emergency. Even as other officers and a nurse came out to back up Ryan Moats claim, the officer coldly responded, "Alright, I'm almost done".  

I don't want to bring in the race card. I think race is sometimes thrown around too loosely, and at this point no one can be sure. I'll say this, if race was a factor, it wouldn't be a surprise. At this point, we have a cop with zero sympathy and even less good sense. In a word, the man acted like a moron. He has since been berated publicly by the Dallas Police Chief and put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. He recently issued an apology through his lawyer and expressed a wish to meet with the Moats and apologize in person. I think that's the least he could do.

The most surprising thing about the whole incident was how the family kept there cool. Tamishia Moats says that Powell pointed his gun at them while they exited there car. After she went into the hospital, Ryan was left to deal with the unreasonable officer. But he remained relatively calm. He seemed frustrated, of which he had more than enough reason to be, but never lost his temper. He didn't try to get out using his status as an NFL player. He was more calm and collected than most could have been in a situation like that, and for that he should be praised. It couldn't have been an easy thing to do. He was in a nightmare predicament, and handled himself with class, which is what you would also hope for from the one who is sworn to protect us.