Seems like this officer has a past of doing this:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...boys/stories/032909dnspo1athomas.3ecf949.html
Maritza Thomas, the wife of NFL linebacker Zach Thomas, saw a familiar face as she watched the video of Officer Robert Powell detaining Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats as he and his family rushed to a hospital to see a dying loved one. That face was Powell's.
On July 27, 2008, while her husband was at training camp with the Cowboys in Oxnard, Calif., Maritza Thomas was pulled over by Powell for an illegal U-turn near NorthPark Center.
Maritza Thomas was issued five tickets by Powell, four of which were later dismissed. Thomas was handcuffed, placed in the back of a police cruiser, spent about three hours in the Dallas County Jail and was threatened with the possibility of spending the night behind bars.
"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," said Zach Thomas, who played for the Cowboys last season and is now a free agent. "But we wanted to tell our story, not knowing how many others have been affected by Officer Powell. We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."
The charges that were dropped were failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, having an improper address on a driver's license and not having a registration sticker on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge, and her record will be cleared next month.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...boys/stories/032909dnspo1athomas.3ecf949.html
Maritza Thomas, the wife of NFL linebacker Zach Thomas, saw a familiar face as she watched the video of Officer Robert Powell detaining Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats as he and his family rushed to a hospital to see a dying loved one. That face was Powell's.
On July 27, 2008, while her husband was at training camp with the Cowboys in Oxnard, Calif., Maritza Thomas was pulled over by Powell for an illegal U-turn near NorthPark Center.
Maritza Thomas was issued five tickets by Powell, four of which were later dismissed. Thomas was handcuffed, placed in the back of a police cruiser, spent about three hours in the Dallas County Jail and was threatened with the possibility of spending the night behind bars.
"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," said Zach Thomas, who played for the Cowboys last season and is now a free agent. "But we wanted to tell our story, not knowing how many others have been affected by Officer Powell. We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."
The charges that were dropped were failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, having an improper address on a driver's license and not having a registration sticker on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge, and her record will be cleared next month.
I had kinda hoped this hijacked thread had died a deserved death, but hey....
ENFUEGO rocks on: My point is this and it's very simple. If a cop is in uniform and performs any sort of patrol duty and responds to any call from a bar fight to a traffic stop his/her life is at risk
BAR: Oh, I got your point just fine. I just know that it's a preposterous claim.
ENF: I don't care what the percentages are that something happens or not.
BAR: Well yeah, I kinda figured that part out about ya
ENF: You must be joking if you think the media writes articles every time a cop is assaulted.
BAR: Not joking one bit. My work experience over the past ten years was mutually involved with working with cops and working with mainstream print media. Any time a police officer is assaulted or a victim of accident or death, it goes right to the front burner at any mainstream newspaper.
ENF: You don't read half of what happens in the U.S.
BAR: Actually, for the past ten years, that was precisely my job - reading mainstream newspaper nationwide on topics concerning public drug policy (where cops spend an inordinate amount of their time) and topics concerning police vs civilian interaction (civil liberties).
ENF: You or I have no idea how many cops are assaulted on traffic stops.
BAR: Actually, it's a matter of public record. Though I don't have the most immediate citation on assaults, I do know that less than one cop per week was killed by a civilian in 2008.
ENF:... but if they pull someone over their life is at risk. It's a fact.
BAR: No, it's only very rarely a fact.
A cop pulled me over about two months ago for what he said was an improper lane change. In doing so, his life was never for one second at risk.
That fairly describes 99.9% of police traffic stops.
Sadly, there's one in a thousand (well, actually even much fewer than that) where it is a fact that their life is at risk.
ENF: You mention cops that are killed but you fail to mention those that are injured in the line of duty. That's because you don't know how many and neither do I.
BAR: Asked and answered above.
ENF: I would also like you to list more than two dozen jobs where people are at risk of dying almost 2,000 hours in a year.
BAR: Not sure if there are ANY jobs where someone is at risk of dying "almost 2000 hours in a year" save for perhaps military troops in active combat arenas.
Certainly, police officers are not at risk of dying save for maybe a couple hours a year on average.
And in those few hours, they merit deserved praise and commendation for putting their lives on the line. But please spare us the romantic notion that the moment they walk out the door to get in their automobile they are in someone's gunsights.
As already mentioned in previous posts, if there was a significant number of Americans truly plotting the deaths of police, it seems that they're doing a pretty piss poor job of making their dreams a reality, since barely one a week dies at the hands of civilians nationwide.
ENFUEGO rocks on: My point is this and it's very simple. If a cop is in uniform and performs any sort of patrol duty and responds to any call from a bar fight to a traffic stop his/her life is at risk
BAR: Oh, I got your point just fine. I just know that it's a preposterous claim.
ENF: I don't care what the percentages are that something happens or not.
BAR: Well yeah, I kinda figured that part out about ya
ENF: You must be joking if you think the media writes articles every time a cop is assaulted.
BAR: Not joking one bit. My work experience over the past ten years was mutually involved with working with cops and working with mainstream print media. Any time a police officer is assaulted or a victim of accident or death, it goes right to the front burner at any mainstream newspaper.
ENF: You don't read half of what happens in the U.S.
BAR: Actually, for the past ten years, that was precisely my job - reading mainstream newspaper nationwide on topics concerning public drug policy (where cops spend an inordinate amount of their time) and topics concerning police vs civilian interaction (civil liberties).
ENF: You or I have no idea how many cops are assaulted on traffic stops.
BAR: Actually, it's a matter of public record. Though I don't have the most immediate citation on assaults, I do know that less than one cop per week was killed by a civilian in 2008.
ENF:... but if they pull someone over their life is at risk. It's a fact.
BAR: No, it's only very rarely a fact.
A cop pulled me over about two months ago for what he said was an improper lane change. In doing so, his life was never for one second at risk.
That fairly describes 99.9% of police traffic stops.
Sadly, there's one in a thousand (well, actually even much fewer than that) where it is a fact that their life is at risk.
ENF: You mention cops that are killed but you fail to mention those that are injured in the line of duty. That's because you don't know how many and neither do I.
BAR: Asked and answered above.
ENF: I would also like you to list more than two dozen jobs where people are at risk of dying almost 2,000 hours in a year.
BAR: Not sure if there are ANY jobs where someone is at risk of dying "almost 2000 hours in a year" save for perhaps military troops in active combat arenas.
Certainly, police officers are not at risk of dying save for maybe a couple hours a year on average.
And in those few hours, they merit deserved praise and commendation for putting their lives on the line. But please spare us the romantic notion that the moment they walk out the door to get in their automobile they are in someone's gunsights.
As already mentioned in previous posts, if there was a significant number of Americans truly plotting the deaths of police, it seems that they're doing a pretty piss poor job of making their dreams a reality, since barely one a week dies at the hands of civilians nationwide.
Zach Thomas says Moats cop jailed wife in '08
The wife of former NFL linebacker Zach Thomas was handcuffed and jailed for making an illegal U-turn in 2008 by the same Dallas police officer who recently prevented Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats from seeing his dying mother-in-law in the hospital, The Dallas Morning News reported.
According to The Morning News, Maritza Thomas was pulled over on July 27, 2008, by Officer Robert Powell for an illegal U-turn. She was issued five tickets, four of which were later dismissed. She was handcuffed, placed in the back of a police cruiser, spent about three hours in the Dallas County Jail and threatened with the possibility of spending the night behind bars.
"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," said Zach Thomas, who played for the Cowboys last season and is now a free agent. "But we wanted to tell our story, not knowing how many others have been affected by Officer Powell. We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."
Powell's attorney, Bob Gorsky, questioned the timing of Maritza Thomas' allegations, saying she had not complained about her arrest until the Moats incident became public.
The Thomases considered filing a complaint against Powell but declined, "because we didn't want to cause a stir," Zach Thomas told The Morning News. He said they believed it "was maybe a guy having a bad day."
Charges that were dropped against Maritza Thomas, who is Hispanic, were failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, having an improper address on a driver's license and not having a registration sticker on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge, and her record will be cleared next month. The Morning News report said she was detained roughly five hours.
Her attorney, Brody Shanklin, said, "Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, no person should be arrested for a Class C citation. In this case, it was an example of Officer Powell being overzealous and exerting his authority in a manner that he never should have."
Powell's attorney disagreed.
"I do understand that an arrest on multiple traffic charges happens often and is absolutely proper under these circumstances," Gorsky said. "Often, when there are multiple charges, an arrest made and bond posted, some of the charges from a single event are later dropped."
According to Maritza Thomas, a pharmacist with no prior criminal record, Powell would not accept an explanation of where the proper paperwork was before she was taken to jail. Her mother, Teresa Lozano, who she said was making her first trip to Dallas and speaks little English, was forced to ride with the tow-truck driver when the car was impounded. She later posted bail for her daughter's release.
"My mom was begging for him to let her go to the apartment that was five minutes away to get the paperwork," Maritza Thomas told The Morning News. "He unbuckled his holster, and she got scared."
The Thomases said Powell was dismissive, but they did not allege that he used abusive language. There is no dash-cam video available of the incident, but the police report lists the five citations and confirms that Thomas was taken to jail, The Morning News reported.
Judge C. Victor Lander, the city of Dallas' chief municipal judge, said under Texas law a person can be arrested for any Class C misdemeanor citation except speeding and having an open container, The Morning News reported.
When an officer gives someone a traffic citation, it is in lieu of arrest, Lander said. The officer does have the option of making an arrest, he said.
"It really is giving the individual a break by issuing them a ticket. But it's a break most people get," Lander said.
Dallas police say it is not unusual for an officer to arrest someone who is issued three or more citations during one traffic stop, The Morning News reported. On Friday, Powell issued an apology for his actions in the Moats incident. He has been put on paid leave
The wife of former NFL linebacker Zach Thomas was handcuffed and jailed for making an illegal U-turn in 2008 by the same Dallas police officer who recently prevented Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats from seeing his dying mother-in-law in the hospital, The Dallas Morning News reported.
According to The Morning News, Maritza Thomas was pulled over on July 27, 2008, by Officer Robert Powell for an illegal U-turn. She was issued five tickets, four of which were later dismissed. She was handcuffed, placed in the back of a police cruiser, spent about three hours in the Dallas County Jail and threatened with the possibility of spending the night behind bars.
"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," said Zach Thomas, who played for the Cowboys last season and is now a free agent. "But we wanted to tell our story, not knowing how many others have been affected by Officer Powell. We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."
Powell's attorney, Bob Gorsky, questioned the timing of Maritza Thomas' allegations, saying she had not complained about her arrest until the Moats incident became public.
The Thomases considered filing a complaint against Powell but declined, "because we didn't want to cause a stir," Zach Thomas told The Morning News. He said they believed it "was maybe a guy having a bad day."
Charges that were dropped against Maritza Thomas, who is Hispanic, were failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, having an improper address on a driver's license and not having a registration sticker on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge, and her record will be cleared next month. The Morning News report said she was detained roughly five hours.
Her attorney, Brody Shanklin, said, "Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, no person should be arrested for a Class C citation. In this case, it was an example of Officer Powell being overzealous and exerting his authority in a manner that he never should have."
Powell's attorney disagreed.
"I do understand that an arrest on multiple traffic charges happens often and is absolutely proper under these circumstances," Gorsky said. "Often, when there are multiple charges, an arrest made and bond posted, some of the charges from a single event are later dropped."
According to Maritza Thomas, a pharmacist with no prior criminal record, Powell would not accept an explanation of where the proper paperwork was before she was taken to jail. Her mother, Teresa Lozano, who she said was making her first trip to Dallas and speaks little English, was forced to ride with the tow-truck driver when the car was impounded. She later posted bail for her daughter's release.
"My mom was begging for him to let her go to the apartment that was five minutes away to get the paperwork," Maritza Thomas told The Morning News. "He unbuckled his holster, and she got scared."
The Thomases said Powell was dismissive, but they did not allege that he used abusive language. There is no dash-cam video available of the incident, but the police report lists the five citations and confirms that Thomas was taken to jail, The Morning News reported.
Judge C. Victor Lander, the city of Dallas' chief municipal judge, said under Texas law a person can be arrested for any Class C misdemeanor citation except speeding and having an open container, The Morning News reported.
When an officer gives someone a traffic citation, it is in lieu of arrest, Lander said. The officer does have the option of making an arrest, he said.
"It really is giving the individual a break by issuing them a ticket. But it's a break most people get," Lander said.
Dallas police say it is not unusual for an officer to arrest someone who is issued three or more citations during one traffic stop, The Morning News reported. On Friday, Powell issued an apology for his actions in the Moats incident. He has been put on paid leave
you guys can rip on me if you like but i dont see anything wrong with what he did. it was at midnight i would rather be cautious than wrong. i live in the st louis mo area and people walk up on cops and shoot them--sit at the top of exit ramps and take shots at police. im sorry but for the shite money they make i am being careful as i can. here is a suggestion if your mother in law is that bad off and seeing her means that much to her then why do you arrive on the scene right before she dies if that was somebody that meant that much to me i am by their side in the hospital never leaving. just glad he did not hit anyone when he just felt like running red lights.
1) You are seriously telling me if a cop is assaulted in any way it will in fact appear in a newspaper? You're telling me it's a requirement to appear in a newspaper? If you're telling me that you're not very bright. Editors of newspapers choose the news they'll put in the paper and it's ludicrous for you to say that every assault on a police officer will appear as news in the newspaper.
2) You can read whatever you'd like in the last 10 years because every assault on a police officer has not appeared in a newspaper. You must be joking if you think so.
3) It is a fact that every traffic stop puts a cops life in danger. I'm not saying anything happens but their life is at risk of injury from a passing motorist or the person themselves. I'm not saying they get assaulted but fundamentely their life is at risk. You are wrong on this point.
4) You have no idea how many cops are assaulted per year and neither do I.
Again, you've missed the point but whatever. Cops respond to traffic violations, fights, domestic disputes, robberies, suspicious activity or whatever their life is fundamentally at risk. They are at risk from a criminal doing harm, disease from bodily fluids other vehicles hitting them as they chase bad dudes or whatever. They are much more at risk than any of us going to work everyday. I just don't see how you don't get this. Again, I'm not saying they are injured or killed on a regular basis but the the simple risk is present and that's a fact.
You continue to try and mock me and that's fine but you have no idea what I know about the media and police officers but I can guarantee you it's more than you think I know.
I'll try and keep this brief, but barman I disagree with you on this subject.
You stated a couple dozen of officers died last year? 140 were killed in 2008, down from 181 in 2007. Those figures are about average for the U.S.
I don't care what research you do, or have done, but you're very wrong on this subject.
Every time an officer makes a traffic stop, or answers a call for service, they are at some kind of risk for injury or death. When a traffic stop is made, you have absolutely no idea who is in the vehicle. Granted, most of the time it will end with a citation being written and it's over, but the possibility exists that the officer could get hurt.
When you answer a call for service and walk into someone's house you have no idea what's waiting for you.
Trust me, the media doesn't report half of what occurs to police officers unless it's a serious injury or death. There are officers injured on duty every day at work and that doesn't make the papers.
You're missing the point enfuego is trying to make. He is saying that police officers have the potential to be hurt or killed on just about every call or traffic stop they make. Just because it doesn't happen doesn't mean that the potential isn't there.
You stated a couple dozen of officers died last year? 140 were killed in 2008, down from 181 in 2007. Those figures are about average for the U.S.
I don't care what research you do, or have done, but you're very wrong on this subject.
Every time an officer makes a traffic stop, or answers a call for service, they are at some kind of risk for injury or death. When a traffic stop is made, you have absolutely no idea who is in the vehicle. Granted, most of the time it will end with a citation being written and it's over, but the possibility exists that the officer could get hurt.
When you answer a call for service and walk into someone's house you have no idea what's waiting for you.
Trust me, the media doesn't report half of what occurs to police officers unless it's a serious injury or death. There are officers injured on duty every day at work and that doesn't make the papers.
You're missing the point enfuego is trying to make. He is saying that police officers have the potential to be hurt or killed on just about every call or traffic stop they make. Just because it doesn't happen doesn't mean that the potential isn't there.
What’s at issue is the degree of risk.
<o
> </o>
To pull back to a position of “Oh but wait. All I ever meant was there’s some nonzero probability of death or injury every day a cop’s on the job” renders the claim true but trivial. Trivial because it’s true of every day of every human being’s life.
<o> </o>
What was obviously being implied earlier in the thread is not that the probability is nonzero, but that it is unusually high, so high as to set it apart from all or almost all other occupations.
<o> </o>
When this implication was contested, the move was made to pull back to the trivial claim. But that move is disingenuous.
<o
> </o>To pull back to a position of “Oh but wait. All I ever meant was there’s some nonzero probability of death or injury every day a cop’s on the job” renders the claim true but trivial. Trivial because it’s true of every day of every human being’s life.
<o
> </o>What was obviously being implied earlier in the thread is not that the probability is nonzero, but that it is unusually high, so high as to set it apart from all or almost all other occupations.
<o
> </o>When this implication was contested, the move was made to pull back to the trivial claim. But that move is disingenuous.
Dallas officer who stopped Texans player resigns
By JOHN McCLAIN
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
April 1, 2009, 1:27PM
Dallas police officer Robert Powell, who became the subject of a nationwide controversy when he kept Texans running back Ryan Moats from being with his dying mother-in-law at a Plano hospital, has resigned.
Powell, who was suspended and under investigation because of the March 18 incident, sent his letter of resignation to police chief David Kunkle today.
“I hearby tender my resignation from the Dallas Police Department effective immediately,” Powell wrote. “It has been a privilege and honor to work for the Dallas Police Department and serve the citizens of Dallas
Powell has been the target of ridicule since he pulled over Moats’ sport utility vehicle for running a red light on the night of March 18. Moats, his wife, Tamishia, and other family members had been called to the hospital because her mother was close to death after a lengthy battle with cancer.
When Moats stopped in the parking lot, his wife and another family member ran inside while Powell drew his gun. Even though a security guard and a nurse came outside to tell Powell his mother-in-law was near death, the officer continued to lecture and threaten Moats.
The incident was captured on the dashboard camera mounted inside Powell’s patrol car.
Last week, Powell issued a public apology that Moats and his wife said they accepted.
By JOHN McCLAIN
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
April 1, 2009, 1:27PM
Dallas police officer Robert Powell, who became the subject of a nationwide controversy when he kept Texans running back Ryan Moats from being with his dying mother-in-law at a Plano hospital, has resigned.
Powell, who was suspended and under investigation because of the March 18 incident, sent his letter of resignation to police chief David Kunkle today.
“I hearby tender my resignation from the Dallas Police Department effective immediately,” Powell wrote. “It has been a privilege and honor to work for the Dallas Police Department and serve the citizens of Dallas
Powell has been the target of ridicule since he pulled over Moats’ sport utility vehicle for running a red light on the night of March 18. Moats, his wife, Tamishia, and other family members had been called to the hospital because her mother was close to death after a lengthy battle with cancer.
When Moats stopped in the parking lot, his wife and another family member ran inside while Powell drew his gun. Even though a security guard and a nurse came outside to tell Powell his mother-in-law was near death, the officer continued to lecture and threaten Moats.
The incident was captured on the dashboard camera mounted inside Powell’s patrol car.
Last week, Powell issued a public apology that Moats and his wife said they accepted.
Quite the opposite. The fact that it doesn't happen in literally 99.9% of traffic stops is quantifiable proof the potential is NOT there in virtually all of those stops.
That's unless you're implying that there's thousands of drivers secretly seething to harm a police officer who just don't quite cross the line every day. If that's your implication, I wince for your paranoia.
