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," he said in a written statement issued by his attorney.

The attorney, Bob Gorsky, works with the Dallas Police Association. He said that despite news reports to the contrary, the officer is remorseful.

The day before, police commanders said Powell told them he saw nothing wrong with his behavior even after reviewing video of the episode.

The video, recorded by his in-car camera, shows him berating Moats, threatening him with arrest and holding him for 13 minutes over a traffic violation while his mother-in-law died at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano.
* * *
Even others sharing Powell's name found themselves the unfortunate targets of ridicule.

"I am not the cop who pulled over Ryan Moats in Dallas ... so please stop sending me msgs about how much you hate me," said one Robert Powell on his Facebook page. "I'M NOT HIM!"

It was after midnight. Moats had his hazard lights flashing the entire time (something most criminals in the act don't do). He "rolled through the red light" after the only other car in the intersection motioned him through. He was probably within a 1/2 mile of the hospital at that point. The cop was relentless even after several nurses and a cop from another jurisdiction came out of the hospital to tell him the woman was dying NOW and yet he still held them "hostage" to his power trip of abuse.

Even this cop's neighbors in the complex where he lives say he's an ass****.

I appreciate what these guys do to keep our lives and property safe and certainly not all cops are bad. However, the good cops keep their mouths shut about bad cops (it's part of their "code" as collegues) and that is just as bad in my opinion. Some wear the uniform, and some wear a costume.

And if you have a loved one dying right then and there, you probably aren't thinking about just sitting in the car over a minor traffic violation while you are parked at the door of the hospital.

I'm sorry, but if you are in a pulled-over situation, you should not just step out of a vehicle- that will immediately put an officer on his/her guard.

I agree. However, my point is that in reality if you've recieved "that call" from the hospital, most humans aren't thinking completely straight. Being totally innocent and not the person behind the wheel, I'm sure I would have done the same thing knowing it was a minor traffic violation and my mother is in the hospital taking her last breaths without me at her side.

The fact the car had the hazard lights blinking and pulled up to the hospital should have been a pretty good clue to the cop. His actions after the facts were provided to him by other parties make this case even worse. You can play devil's advocate up to that point and then he has no benefit of the doubt in my opinion.

I just keep putting myself in the shoes of the Moats family and I can't get past how sickening his actions were. Just sick.

Canmark- I don't think there was anyone sick in the car- she was already in the hospital.

I am going to play devil's advocate.

I agree that this officer did not handle this situation well, however, there is a lot to the situation handled:

1) There was not an immediate stopping at pulling him over- then individuals other than the driver start hopping out of the car. That is an officer safety issue. What if they had a weapon of some sort, etc. That is unfortunately a risk of the job. They should have requested permission to leave the vehicle prior to stepping out of the car. This might have raised an immediate red flag to the officer and made him less amenable to helping.

2) Running a red light around a hospital is serious- there are so many emergency vehicles that can pop up around a corner at high speed... so a red light around a hospital is going to receive more strict enforcement simply for safety purposes.

3) The guy could have been lying. People do it all the time to get out of a ticket. If I am an officer some guy screaming that his family member only has seconds to live, I am thinking- "Then why aren't you already at the hospital?"

I think the officer was out of line. However, in order to enforce the law they have to be strict and stern... this guy stepped over the line into abusing his power, but his tone of voice at the start was reasonable and then he got an attitude.....

I would not want to be a police officer, that is for sure. I thank God they have the video recordings nowadays to protect people- hopefully something is learned from the situation.

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 included: failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, improper address on driver's license and a registration sticker was not on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge, and her record will be cleared next month.

In total, Maritza Thomas, who is Hispanic, was detained roughly five hours.

"This situation never should've happened," said Maritza Thomas' attorney, Brody Shanklin. "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."

Bob Gorsky, Powell's attorney, questioned the timing of Thomas' allegations, saying she had not complained about her arrest until the Moats incident became public.

"After her arrest, she may have mentioned that her husband was a football player, but that played no role in her arrest or the disposition of the case," Gorsky said.

"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 the explanation of where the proper paperwork was before she was taken to jail. Her mother, Teresa Lozano, who 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 said. "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.

At the time, the Thomases considered filing a complaint against Powell but declined, "because we didn't want to cause a stir," said her husband, Zach Thomas, believing it "was maybe a guy having a bad day." However, they plan to file one now.

Complaints can be made more than 60 days following an incident in person or in writing with the internal affairs department. Maritza Thomas said she would fax a letter this week. The Thomases said they are not seeking money.

Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse, a Dallas police spokesman, declined to comment on Thomas' allegation.

However, he said police would investigate all complaints submitted to the department about Powell.

"If she feels Officer Powell did something wrong, we'll investigate it," Janse said. "We are not going to go back and track everything this officer has done," he said. "If people come to us with concerns, we'll look into it."

The department is investigating Powell's actions on the night of the Moats traffic stop, as well as any other questionable encounters involving the officer, Janse said.

Maritza Thomas said, "I hope that by telling my story that it will help prevent situations like this from happening in the future."

Powell issued an apology Friday for his actions in which Moats and his grandfather-in-law were unable to see Jonetta Collinsworth before she succumbed to breast cancer this month. Powell has been put on paid leave.

With the grim news of Collinsworth's health, Moats, his wife, Tamishia, and her grandfather rushed to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano, rolling through a red light that prompted Powell to turn on his lights.

Outside the emergency room, Powell detained Moats for 13 minutes, and Collinsworth died before everybody could say goodbye.

Hornfan I am right there with you on everything you have said. I am not dismissing that what police officers due is very dangerous, and that they are trained to err on the side of caution. One of my ex boyfriends was a police officer and another guy I dated was an FBI special agent. I know the dangers and fully appreciate what they risk on a daily basis. But I'm sorry...this guy was a complete ass. After the nurse and other official came out to verify the story, he continued being an ass, and thats what enraged me about this story. He kept telling Moats to shut up. I'm glad the other two car occupants ignored the officer and were able to say their goodbyes. Moats was still responding with "yes sirs"