ESPN: Officer delayed Moats as relative died

[DallasCowpoke]

You can be sued, or you can fire this idiot and avoid it.

And no, I wouldn't talk to him.

Two things I can guarantee you won't happen:

1. If Moats does decide to sue, he'll lose miserably.
2. Nobody's going to get fired.

I think Moats should and will talk w/ the officer. There is NO better way to show someone who's wronged you the right way to do things, than to accept their apology and open a dialog with them.

 

[Jon88]

Two things I can guarantee you won't happen:

1. If Moats does decide to sue, he'll lose miserably.
2. Nobody's going to get fired.

I think Moats should and will talk w/ the officer. There is NO better way to show someone who's wronged you the right way to do things, than to accept their apology and open a dialog with them.

I would accept an apology from most people, but not that piece of crap.

Would he have apologized had this not gotten out? Nope.

 

[BrassCowboy]

As I said, that's the part where he could have done better.

do you not see that is what the problem is here?????

I do not think anyone on this WHOLE board disputes the fact that he should of been pulled over and questioned. Even the cops initial handlinmg could be defensed, but like most here are saying and I have just got done saying in last post, he continued with the crap preventing him from being with his family in a dying situation.
He will NEVER get that back, ever.........

Stop defending the cop, he had a right to pull over and question the guy, but his cointinuos bs is why he should be fired.

 

[BrassCowboy]

I agree with that part. I also believe that Moats made the first mistake. As I have said before, they are both at fault to some degree. The situation doesn't change the means. He should have sat and waited on the officer, and explained his situation. Things would have probably turned out differently.

The officer will likely be dealt with accordingly, but I doubt he will be fired.

(erased)

 

[BrassCowboy]

I agree with that part. I also believe that Moats made the first mistake. As I have said before, they are both at fault to some degree. The situation doesn't change the means. He should have sat and waited on the officer, and explained his situation. Things would have probably turned out differently.

The officer will likely be dealt with accordingly,but I doubt he will be fired.

well moats is not an officer of the law and does not have a handbook on being pulled over. chalk it up to an error on moats, but that is not on the cop and moats does not work for the police force.

The cop had several opportunities to make it right and he handled it very cocky, telling the other cop and the nurse " ok I am almost done" or "i will only be a few more minutes" bull****, that paperwork could of been done at anytime.

the cop should be fired, but if he don't, it will only be to save the police force's pride.

 

[iceberg]

well moats is not an officer of the law and does not have a handbook on being pulled over. chalk it up to an error on moats, but that is not on the cop and moats does not work for the police force.

The cop had several opportunities to make it right and he handled it very cocky, telling the other cop and the nurse " ok I am almost done" or "i will only be a few more minutes" bull****, that paperwork could of been done at anytime.

the cop should be fired, but if he don't, it will only be to save the police force's pride.

it's a regrettable situation, but drivers ed is the handbook you're referring to. you just don't get out of your car when pulled over. you let the officer lead the actions for the least amount of hassle.

 

[Jon88]

it's a regrettable situation, but drivers ed is the handbook you're referring to. you just don't get out of your car when pulled over. you let the officer lead the actions for the least amount of hassle.

You can get out of your car. Some lawyers reccomend doing it and locking your door if you're one of the ones who gets needlessly harassed and searched regularly. I'm not one of them, but I've spoke several people who are.

 

[iceberg]

You can get out of your car. Some lawyers reccomend doing it and locking your door if you're one of the ones who gets needlessly harassed and searched regularly. I'm not one of them, but I've spoke several people who are.

and if you're an officer, what is your reaction?

i stay in my car and keep my hands on the steering wheel til he gets to the window.

if i don't want to be in a bad situation, i don't put myself there. well, except for whatever i did that got me pulled over. : )

 

[Jon88]

and if you're an officer, what is your reaction?

i stay in my car and keep my hands on the steering wheel til he gets to the window.

if i don't want to be in a bad situation, i don't put myself there. well, except for whatever i did that got me pulled over. : )

"Damn, he knows the law."

 

[Concord]

"Damn, he knows the law."

 

[Kevinicus]

Well, that doesn't bother me so much... I mean, Moats broke several traffic laws, and ignored the police lights... the officer had to suspect that he was trying to flee, and just gave up on that idea, so he pulled into the hospital parking lot... and when the wife came out almost hysterical (justifiably so, that's not a criticism) that would lead the cop to become even more nervous, even more suspicious...

Like I said earlier, folks lie to cops all the time, and he was right not to simply accept Ryan's story without checking it out... but he quickly received verification that what Moats was saying was true, and at that point a good police officer would have tried to help... this one obviously didn't...

IOW, I understand where the cop was coming from at first, and I understand why Ryan's antagonistic reaction at first made the situation worse... but he quickly calmed, and again, the cop quickly figured out that Moats did have a family emergency... at that point, what the officer did was both unacceptable, and demonstrated a lack of any compassion on the officer's part...

That police department needs to "screw" him, by making sure he's never again in a position where he can abuse his authority that way... IOW, he should be fired...

Wow...I'm floored...I agree 100% with your argument and find it well reasoned, are you hijacking SB's account?

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

The moment he had the story verified, he should have dropped it. He was an idiot. My guess is that he wanted to save face somehow or seem like he was in control the entire time when in reality, he should have said "Oops. My bad. Let me hold the door open for you." the moment he knew that this wasn't just some made up story.

 

[dogunwo]

Both were wrong, moats and the police officer;

now at the end the police officer was being a jerk at the end trying to show how much power he had,

when moats and his wife told the police officer what was going on, all the police officer had to do was lock the vehicle up, and escort the family inside to where they needed to go

even before the nurse came up another guy came up and told the police officer code blue and they needed him inside. Right there common sense tells you to let the family go inside, have some compasssion

i do know this and believe this, God is going to hold that pollice officer accountable for moats not being there when his mother inlaw passed away

at same time, all moats had to do was stop, most likelly the police officer may have escorted moats into the hospital area, so both were wrong,

and yes the police officer was being a jerk to with too much feeling of power

Most likely? You can't be serious. If the cop acted that way then, what makes you think he would have been reasonable before? What about that cops behavior indicates he would have helped at all? You sound blinded by the general belief that all cops are good. Some just treat it like a job, and no uniform is going to change the imbecile that wears it.

 

[Jon88]

The moment he had the story verified, he should have dropped it. He was an idiot. My guess is that he wanted to save face somehow or seem like he was in control the entire time when in reality, he should have said "Oops. My bad. Let me hold the door open for you." the moment he knew that this wasn't just some made up story.

What?

 

[dirtycallahan]

"Damn, he knows the law."

Don't take Jon's advice. If you are the driver or passenger in a vehicle that is stopped, comply with reasonable requests. The officer has the right to direct you to remain in the car, or to order you out of the car. The most recent relevant Supreme Court decision is BRENDLIN v. CALIFORNIA,
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/06-8120.pdf

It's a tragic situation, and the officer handled it 180 degrees from what should have happened. His seemed to forget that his job is not just to find people breaking the law, but to assist people in need.

 

[jrumann59]

You can get out of your car. Some lawyers reccomend doing it and locking your door if you're one of the ones who gets needlessly harassed and searched regularly. I'm not one of them, but I've spoke several people who are.

You may be able to do that in West Poedunk but if you do in areas of high crime it is inviting a beat down at worst or gun drawn at best. I have had a gun put in my face after I reached for my license too "fast".

 

[Jon88]

Don't take Jon's advice. If you are the driver or passenger in a vehicle that is stopped, comply with reasonable requests. The officer has the right to direct you to remain in the car, or to order you out of the car. The most recent relevant Supreme Court decision is BRENDLIN v. CALIFORNIA,
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/06-8120.pdf

It's a tragic situation, and the officer handled it 180 degrees from what should have happened. His seemed to forget that his job is not just to find people breaking the law, but to assist people in need.

That's not my advice. That's the advice that has been given to people I have talked to and that's what some people do.

 

[Jon88]

You may be able to do that in West Poedunk but if you do in areas of high crime it is inviting a beat down at worst or gun drawn at best. I have had a gun put in my face after I reached for my license too "fast".

Well not in areas of high crime, but you don't have to live in West Poedunk.

 

[dirtycallahan]

My mistake Jon. It's a shame because someting that should have been a non event escalated due to (this is my assumption) the involved officer felt his authority was questioned.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

This should be false, he should also have checked with dispatch, and known there were no wants or warrants for the driver of the vehicle, that the vehicle was not reported stolen, and that the vehicle was properly registered.

Yeah, dispatch is, WITHIN SECONDS gonna know and then inform the copy it was an emergency. [/quote}

To answer JoeBob, I was a cop for 5 years, I left because of the attitude too many cops display. The situation always dictates the behavior and urgency. Saying that, the officer also knew:
1. The suspect vehicle had its flashers on, indicating a problem or concerned driver

So the cop can gather that because someone has flashing lights it is a legit reason for speeding? Laughable [/quote]

2. The suspect vehicle did not change its rate of speed or atttempt to evade once the police officer turned on his lights.

Boy you are dumb. No wonder you did not last as a cop. Where I come from, it's called evading if the car keeps on going

3. The suspect vehicle cleared the intersection before running the red light (important because it reduces the possibility of a drunken or disorderly driver)
4. The suspect vehicle pulled into a hospital er parking lot, at that point specifically the officer should have started having more concern about assisting, then arresting. This is the point that his attitude should have been self checked. (a side point, if he had had a partner, perhaps this would not have happened, but budget cuts often eliminate patrol partners)
5. Once the crazy women came out and left he was left with a fairly calm and rational man.

I am surprised someone did not get the drop on you the first day you were on patrol. Are you crazy? You expect a cop to know all these things like telepathy? The car, whether it pulls into a strip joint parking lot or a church or a hospital, a copy is gonna have his guard up. Intensly, bro, because he is trained to suspect all and to trust no one because it could be his life if he does not have a heightened sense of suspicion. ESPECIALLY DURING A CHASE.i

my bottom line is this guy should be fired. There were way too many signs that he missed.

He did miss a lot of signs.
I bet you miss a lot of signs during the course of your workday, that is if you have a job. Should you be fired after mucking it up on the job?

Given the unfair playing field that naturally occurs in a detaining or arrest situation, I usually take the side of the suspect or defendant because usually the person has no sidearm and no powers. He or she is at the mercy of the cop. All your human rights go away. You are told to sit, stand, put your hands behind your back or to kiss the pavement. So, yes, I feel for the common man who is suddenly a second-class citizen while the copy checks you out for weapons or warrants or contraband. But that is the best our society can come up with. We surrender our rights for a little while while the cop checks everything out. That is the price we pay for a civilized society (excpet in Washington, D.C., where civilized behavior is somethings out the window.

If you were a copy you were a wishy-washy one and were probably drummed out by your fellow cops for being so trusting and putting them at danger.

Dont think you were ever a cop, you just sound a bit wacky.

Like I said, common sense should be used, but cops have to think about their safety first and then the rights or feelings of someone who refused to stop. If I am moats, I will stop and take a few second to plead my case. 99 times out of a 100, the officer will escort you and then check out your story in the case of people rushing INTO a hospital.

This cop needs counseling and Moats, bless his heart, needs to understand that no one is reading his mind and the cop had no idea if he was a felon, packing heat or just trying to get away with a story.

So don't jump to concussions about the cops behavior. Cops (like refers have to decide things within seconds) and then the arm-chairs can sit back and criticize. Not fair but that is the way our society runs.

And, sorry you live in D.C. If we can raise a fund for you maybe we can get you to God's Country (Texas), where men are men unless they are horses.