I didn’t get to touch on the Ryan Moats incident with the police officer from Dallas. By now many people already know what happened. In brief, Moats was on the way to the hospital where his mother-in-law was dying. Moats apparently committed traffic violations on his way to the hospital, running a red light at the least. When Officer Robert Powell finally caught up with Moats at the hospital, he power-tripped on Moats so long that the mother-in-law died while Ryan was dealing with the officer. I understand where the officer would be trained to think the worst and handle the situation carefully. But once he was told that Moats’ problem was legit (which he was on the radio), he should have eased up. Instead, the officer made comments such as “I can screw you over,” and even went so far as to pull a gun. Moats, who up until that point was the victim of all other people who commit crimes and try to lie their way out of tickets (leading officers to be conditioned think the worst), then became the victim of an a-hole with a badge. How do we know that’s the case? Zach Thomas’ wife, Maritza Thomas, had a similar experience with the exact same officer!

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.

Apparently all officers have the right to make an arrest when stopping someone for a traffic violation, it’s usually just too much of a hassle for them. Unless you’re just a maniac like this guy who seems like he’s just out there to make people’s lives worse. Usually I’m all about enforcing and following rules, but I will be the first to say that punishments should always fit the crime. This guy is killing mosquitoes with cannon balls. At least Powell’s been put on leave; there’s no place for someone like him in law enforcement.

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