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Officer Delays Man as Relative Died

I've seen this discussed now on several boards that I visit (two cigar boards, a hockey board and a motorcycle board) and I'm glad to see that most people feel that the officer was warranted in his actions, and that while he could have used a bit of discretion, he was completely justified in drawing his weapon and initially reacting the way he did.

The initial article I read about this on CNN made it sound like the whole world was in outrage and they were going to take this guy to the fricken UN for his crimes against humanity because he didn't allow some NFL hotshot to see his mother-in-law die.
 
I agree the young officer was acting more on emotion and training than with the discretion a more veteran officer would have had.

With that said, what disgusts me about this story is that if the officer had stopped someone who was not an NFL player there would have been no story. Sure the suspect would be just as pissed off about the incident, but they wouldn't have had the benefit of the news media who will make a bigger deal out of this then it really is. The officer would not have been put on administrative leave, he would have continued to work his normal patrol and nothing else would have come of this. Now this young officer's career will be marred because he will always be the guy who drew a gun on the poor NFL player who wanted to be with his dying mother-in-law. Whither that's right or wrong, that will be his reality.
 
I watched the clip on ESPN and it's only a couple of minutes of the whole ordeal, so who really knows what all happened? Being a defense lawyer, I deal with policemen a great deal. In my experience, this crap about cops having a big chip on their shoulder is BS. Yes, some do (like all other sects of society) and exert their authority too much at times, but, for the most part, the officers I deal with are professional, courteous, respectful and, best of all, full of common sense. That last part is my problem with this incident.

There is no doubt that the car should have been pulled over. There is also no doubt that the officer was more than justified in brandishing a weapon when compliance with his requests were not heeded. Look, we don't have to worry about dying every time we do our job, so I think we can cut him some slack on that part. Anyway, what gets me is how unreasonable the officer is after realizing what is happening. Right off the bat, I think you know it's not a lie . . . they stop in the parking lot at the emergency room. The wife disobeys orders and goes inside. Later on, and this is what really gets me, a nurse and another officer comes out and tries to explain the situation, asking that Moats be allowed to go in. Rather than use any common sense and compassion, the officer shuns them with a curt remark. To be honest, the main line that offended me was that about taking him to jail for running a red light. That was ridiculous and insulting. I also thought the bit about towing the car was a touch much.

I figure the officer regrets what happened and should have been on apologizing last night. Instead, he gets blasted by a rep from the department, which I thought was justified. I hate that stuff like this happens, but it is what it is. I personally think the officer just bristled up in the beginning and let it get the better of his judgment. Also, while I understand Moats' situation, he did not handle himself well either. There was no reason to jump around and scream. I do understand his wife disobeying the officer and going on in the hospital . . . I would have done the same thing. However, Moats should have been a little calmer and explained the situation in a more controlled fashion.
 
Several interesting points in this thread.

Stars expect to get preferential treatment.

Some can play the race card when needed.

Media will always edit to their liking.

Cops can get overzealous at times.

The only one of these that is acceptable to me is the one that involves risking your life every day!
 
What happened was inexcusable and offensive to me personally. Nowhere did Moats tell the officer he was an NFL player or ask for special treatment. Nowhere did he not deny that he ran the red light or that he did nothing wrong. He said he would have been fine with a ticket and then allowing him to go into the hospital. I wonder how people would react in the same situation; I would've done the same exact thing as Moats.

I respect all the LEOs opinions on this thread, but as a member of the public this is just plain wrong. He was driving with his hazard lights on and stopping to watch for traffic before continuing. He pulled over in the hospital emergency room parking lot and it was obvious from the emotions of the family that they were telling the truth. So, what should Moats have done? No one is saying the officer is wrong for pulling him over (at least I'm not), but if the officer's actions are not an example of horrible judgment, I don't know what is.

Funny how a lot of the comments are about Moats and the race card. I would think the focus should be on the officer's actions, but what do I know. Frankly, if Moats thinks race was a factor, I think he has a right to say that. I think he is in a better position than me to know if race was a factor.
 
I should have known better than to make comments without watching the whole tape. I just watched the unedited version and I have to detract anything I said about Moats being unreasonable. He actually handled it better than I would have. ESPN had it clipped a little differently. :rolleyes:

I was happy to see that the officer allowed the daughter to go on in. The ESPN tape looked, to me, like she disobeyed and just went in. He actually told her to go on and for Moats to stay. The rest of it is a horrible lapse in judgment. I think it was all summed up pretty well by the officer while going over all the things he "could" do to Moats, wherein he said "I could make your life difficult." No doubt this is all that was happening and it's a real shame.
 
This cop should be fired and I don't say that lightly. This was not simply a "lapse in judgement".

NA
 
ggiese said:
B.L. Sims said:
All I will say is that both parties got caught up in the emotion of it all, and everyone could have handled the situation better. But this is what happens when you inject a whole lot of emotion into things.

That being said, what got this cop in trouble was the fact that he went shooting his mouth off issuing all kinds of threats and seemed to genuinly enjoy himself while detaining Mr. Motes, and at times, prolonging everything. DPD will be very lucky if they dont see a lawsuit out of this. The airwaves were filled with this today and I think the feelings of most people who were LEO was embarassment for how this officer reacted.
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What you're saying doesn't make an awful lot of sense. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of knowing all of the facts. But - it sounds as though you were at the scene. Would you care to share with us what really happened?
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Not sure what isnt clear, and no, I wasnt at the scene. Im just commenting from the audio ive heard over and over again. Motes was emotional because his mother in law was on her death bed, the officer was emotional because nobody seemed to be cooperating with him. Listen to the tape and youll hear the officer repeatedly lectured Motes over and over and over and over. When hospital staff came down to let the officer know that the woman was coding again and again the officer casually replied "im almost finished up here" after which he begins to lecture again.
 
I have to admit that I have not watched the video. I am just tried of athletes getting away with things they shouldn't and as far as I'm concerned the instant the race card comes out all credibility is lost.

Maybe this guy didn't flex his NFL muscle, and maybe the cop was a complete asshat making numerous bad decisions .....if that's the case he should be fired just like anybody else who blatantly abuses their authority.
 
The cop is getting a lot of flack for this and he doesn't even make the same money these athletes do. Cops put their lives on the line every day and for what? Seriously, how much does this guy love his mother-in-law? If you knew your mother-in-law was going to die in a few minutes and someone was giving away 100 free COHIBA's but you have to pick them up on your way to the hospital, what would you do?
 
yomamar6 said:
The cop is getting a lot of flack for this and he doesn't even make the same money these athletes do. Cops put their lives on the line every day and for what? Seriously, how much does this guy love his mother-in-law? If you knew your mother-in-law was going to die in a few minutes and someone was giving away 100 free COHIBA's but you have to pick them up on your way to the hospital, what would you do?
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What a foolish post!
 
yomamar6 said:
The cop is getting a lot of flack for this and he doesn't even make the same money these athletes do. Cops put their lives on the line every day and for what? Seriously, how much does this guy love his mother-in-law? If you knew your mother-in-law was going to die in a few minutes and someone was giving away 100 free COHIBA's but you have to pick them up on your way to the hospital, what would you do?
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So, if I make less money than someone else, its ok to treat them like they aren't a human being? Some pretty stupid logic you are using there. Oh, and the mother-in-law comment was really classy as well.
 
All I know is that the officer's superiors, after reviewing the entire tape, suspended him . . . and had some pretty direct, uncomplimentary things to say about his actions.

Wasn't there. Can't judge. Do know that "DWB" stops still happen here in Texas, but that's beside the point. His boss says it was badly handled . . . so there it is.

~Boar
 
yomamar6 said:
The cop is getting a lot of flack for this and he doesn't even make the same money these athletes do. Cops put their lives on the line every day and for what? Seriously, how much does this guy love his mother-in-law? If you knew your mother-in-law was going to die in a few minutes and someone was giving away 100 free COHIBA's but you have to pick them up on your way to the hospital, what would you do?
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And there it is... The innapropriate post... :rolleyes:
 
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