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Racing to see his dying mother-in-law at a Plano hospital, an NFL player found himself delayed by a Dallas officer as her life ebbed away. It's a story that has sparked outrage across North Texas and generated interest around the country.
With his wife and another woman in the car, Ryan Moats — a running back for the Houston Texans — sped his car toward Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano in the early morning hours of March 17. But when the Moats arrived at emergency room parking lot, they were stopped by Officer Robert Powell, who drew his service revolver on the concerned family members.
Dashcam video from the Dallas officer's patrol car captured the incident.
"Get in there," Officer Powell yelled out to Tamishia Moats, Ryan's wife, as she exited the car. "Let me see your hands. Get in there. Put your hands on the car."
"Excuse me; my mom is dying," Tamisha Moats replied.
She and the other woman ignored Officer Powell's commands and rushed inside the hospital to her dying mother as Ryan Moats and Officer Powell went back-and-forth over insurance paperwork the NFL player was unable to locate.
MOATS: "I've got seconds before she's gone, man."
POWELL: "Listen: If I can't verify you have insurance..."
MOATS: "My mother-in-law is dying!"
POWELL: "Listen to me."
MOATS: "Right now, you're wasting my time."
POWELL: "If you can't verify you have insurance, I'm going to tow your car. So, you either find it or I am going to tow the car."
As they argued, the officer got irritated.
POWELL: "Shut your mouth. Shut your mouth. You can either settle down and cooperate, or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."
Dallas PD
The tape shows a nurse coming out of the hospital, pleading with Officer Powell to let Moats join his wife and her dying mother inside.. In a telephone interview, Moats said the clash with the officer was totally unexpected. "For him to not even be sympathetic at all, and basically we're dogs or something and we don't matter — it basically shocked me," he said.
No compassion was indicated in the police recording of the incident. "I can screw you over," Officer Powell said. "I would rather not do that. You obviously will dictate everything that happens; and right now, your attitude sucks."
The hospital twice sent nurses to try and get the officer to release Moats.
"We're blue-coding her for the third time," a nurse said on the police videotape.
A Plano police officer stopped to make a plea for the officer to let Moats go. "Hey, that's the nurse," the Plano officer said. "She says the mom is dying right now, and she wants to know if I can get him up there."
Finally, after a 20-minute delay, the officer ticketed Moats for running a red light.
By the time Moats made it up to the emergency room, his mother-in-law was dead.
"I went up after she passed and held her hand, but she was already gone," Moats said in a telephone interview.
Dallas police have apologized to the Moats family, dropped the ticket, and launched a review of the incident.
“When it came to our attention, we immediately called for an internal investigation to be done,” said police spokesman Lt. Andy Havey.
WFAA.com has received more than 400 comments about the incident since the story first aired on Channel 8 Wednesday night.
With his wife and another woman in the car, Ryan Moats — a running back for the Houston Texans — sped his car toward Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano in the early morning hours of March 17. But when the Moats arrived at emergency room parking lot, they were stopped by Officer Robert Powell, who drew his service revolver on the concerned family members.
Dashcam video from the Dallas officer's patrol car captured the incident.
"Get in there," Officer Powell yelled out to Tamishia Moats, Ryan's wife, as she exited the car. "Let me see your hands. Get in there. Put your hands on the car."
"Excuse me; my mom is dying," Tamisha Moats replied.
She and the other woman ignored Officer Powell's commands and rushed inside the hospital to her dying mother as Ryan Moats and Officer Powell went back-and-forth over insurance paperwork the NFL player was unable to locate.
MOATS: "I've got seconds before she's gone, man."
POWELL: "Listen: If I can't verify you have insurance..."
MOATS: "My mother-in-law is dying!"
POWELL: "Listen to me."
MOATS: "Right now, you're wasting my time."
POWELL: "If you can't verify you have insurance, I'm going to tow your car. So, you either find it or I am going to tow the car."
As they argued, the officer got irritated.
POWELL: "Shut your mouth. Shut your mouth. You can either settle down and cooperate, or I can just take you to jail for running a red light."
Dallas PD
The tape shows a nurse coming out of the hospital, pleading with Officer Powell to let Moats join his wife and her dying mother inside.. In a telephone interview, Moats said the clash with the officer was totally unexpected. "For him to not even be sympathetic at all, and basically we're dogs or something and we don't matter — it basically shocked me," he said.
No compassion was indicated in the police recording of the incident. "I can screw you over," Officer Powell said. "I would rather not do that. You obviously will dictate everything that happens; and right now, your attitude sucks."
The hospital twice sent nurses to try and get the officer to release Moats.
"We're blue-coding her for the third time," a nurse said on the police videotape.
A Plano police officer stopped to make a plea for the officer to let Moats go. "Hey, that's the nurse," the Plano officer said. "She says the mom is dying right now, and she wants to know if I can get him up there."
Finally, after a 20-minute delay, the officer ticketed Moats for running a red light.
By the time Moats made it up to the emergency room, his mother-in-law was dead.
"I went up after she passed and held her hand, but she was already gone," Moats said in a telephone interview.
Dallas police have apologized to the Moats family, dropped the ticket, and launched a review of the incident.
“When it came to our attention, we immediately called for an internal investigation to be done,” said police spokesman Lt. Andy Havey.
WFAA.com has received more than 400 comments about the incident since the story first aired on Channel 8 Wednesday night.
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