Thursday, April 2, 2009

Cop In Moats Incident Resigns

Last week, I tore into a young cop in Dallas that made the terrible decision to stop NFL player Ryan Moats, who was on his way with his family to say their final goodbyes to his dying mother-in-law.

The police officer, Robert Powell, has gone a long way in atoning for his error. He has offered and apology and has resigned from the force:

Powell issued an apology, which Moats’ agent, Jordan Woy, said Moats and his wife have accepted.

Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT reported that a planned meeting between Powell and the Moatses would not happen. Powell’s attorney Bob Gorsky, told the television station that they were told the in-person apology would have to be made publicly and with the media present. He said they felt those terms were unacceptable.

Woy said in an e-mail Wednesday to The Associated Press that there would be no meeting.

Powell had said he wanted the meeting with the couple to “personally express my deep regret, sympathy, and to apologize for my poor judgment and unprofessional conduct.” He also said he wanted to apologize to his fellow officers.

Dallas police said in a statement Wednesday that Powell “resigned under his own accord.” Because he resigned while under investigation, he won’t be eligible for rehire with the department, police said. An internal investigation into Powell’s actions will continue, police said.

Since I had criticized Powell for his original bad choices, I felt that I should acknowledge that he finally admitted to his error and forgoing his further career with that department. I hope that he has learned something from this and helps him with any further career choices.

I am a little disappointed with Moats, who had handled himself well during the incident, to take that overly punitive approach. Unfortunately, I would not be surprised if this ended up in a lawsuit as well.

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