04:45 PM Monday, February 08, 2010
NFL Player Accepts Officer's Apology
Date: Monday, March 30, 2009, 9:00 am
By: The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — An NFL player said Monday he accepts the apology offered by a Dallas police officer who stopped him with a drawn gun in a hospital parking lot while his mother-in-law was dying inside.
Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he hopes Officer Robert Powell was sincere in his apology.
Powell stopped Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center in suburban Plano on March 18 after the vehicle rolled through a red light. Moats' wife, Tamishia, and other relatives were also in the car.
The officer pulled out his gun and threatened Moats with jail as the player pleaded to be allowed to go inside the hospital. Moats' mother-in-law died before he got there while Powell write Moats a ticket and lectured him.
Powell, who has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation, issued a statement Friday through his attorneys.
"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," Powell's statement said.
Tamishia Moats said she'd like to hear the apology personally, but that she, too, would definitely accept it.
According to video from a dashboard camera inside the officer's vehicle, Tamishia Moats and another woman disregarded Powell's order to get back inside their vehicle, and they rushed into the hospital. She was by the side of her mother, 45-year-old Jonetta Collinsworth, when she died a short time later from breast cancer.
Powell yelled at Tamishia Moats to stay in the SUV.
"Excuse me, my mom is dying," Tamishia Moats said. "Do you understand?"
Ryan Moats later said the officer pointed his gun at his wife and then at him.
He explained that he waited until there was no traffic before continuing through the red light. When Powell asked for proof of insurance, Moats grew more agitated and told the officer to go find it.
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That's messed up....it' a shame when some officers let a gun override their emotions rather than using sound judgement-especially when they see an unarmed person....With a little help from technology,a device should be created to detect weapons first prior to pulling out a gun on an innocent person...If the gun did go off,how would this officer justify the shooting? Thank God the situation did not go that far and may many blessings go to the Moat family....
by
Catcats
April 1, 2009, 9:22 am
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I hope the apology is sincere and not because he is in fear of losing his job.
by
Kidmaster6
March 31, 2009, 9:56 am
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my condolencews go out to the moats family. we as americans have a lot to do to undo ignorances in this country.I AM A NURSE AND I CAN FEEL THE PAIN OF THIS FAMILY NOT BEING AT HIS WIFE;S MOTHER BEDSIDE DURING HER LAST MINUTES ON THIS EARTH. EVEN THOU THEY HAVE ACCEPTED THIS OFFICER APOLOGY. THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO RETURN TO THIS MOMENT. THIS IS A PART OF THE GRIEVING PROCESS.MANY PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU THAT THEY DON;T WANT TO DIE ALONE.RESEARCH SAYS THAT HEARING IS THE LAST SENSE THAT LEAVE YOU WHEN YOU ARE DYING.I AM SO SORRY FOR THE. GOD BLESS
by
Kenneycnn
March 30, 2009, 1:50 pm
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This 2008 photo provided by the NFL showing Philadelphia Eagles' Ryan Moats.(AP Photo/NFL)
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