Monday Morning Quarterbacking
Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
This past week one of the most televised news stories, most discussed news reports, and most blogged about “news” events, was the traffic stop of an NFL player for running a red light. Like everyone else who has commented, for good or bad, on the incident, I have my opinion too. Unlike some of those who have commented, I’ve actually spent a career in law enforcement. Unlike some others, I refuse to pass judgment based on edited video clips and reporter OPINION - because I wasn’t there; didn’t see, hear and experience everything that officer did; and I don’t have HIS life experiences to develop my decisions based on.
In an effort to be objective there is one BIG point I believe needs to be made and then a collection of questions that should be asked. In some cases I will offer my opinion on what the answer is or should be.
The Critical Point: If there hadn’t been a player from the NFL driving that car, this never would have been national news. If that driver had been Joe Average Citizen, the mainstream media would never have picked it up and made such a big deal out of it. That irks me. The piling on of uninformed criticism that this officer has endured would not have occurred if this ONE person hadn’t been an NFL player. I think it is unacceptable beyond expression that people all across this great country of ours have criticized a man who puts his life on the line for the community he serves every day in support of a man who gets paid far too much to play a GAME.
That said, what are the questions that are pertinent and require answers?
First and foremost in my mind: Did the officer do anything that violated any of his General Orders? If so, then proper remedial action needs to be taken. If not, then it needs to be announced: everything he did was in compliance with the agency’s General Orders.
The next question would also be about departmental controls. Did the officer violate any standing Standard Operating Procedures? If so, then proper remedial action needs to be taken. If not, then it needs to be announced.
The last semi-objective question is: did the officer act unprofessionally? Yes, this is semi-objective. If you put twenty cops in a room and showed them the WHOLE video taped incident and asked them if the officer acted professionally or not, you’d likely get four or five different variations of “Yes” and “No”.
IF the officer acted unprofessionally then his actions fall back into the realm of his agency’s guidance, disciplinary policies, etc.
Beyond the objective “measurable” performance of the officer is the human factor performance. Was the officer too lenient? Did he show too much compassion? Did he not show enough? Was he unreasonable once he learned the circumstances at the hospital?
I know officers who believe that showing any compassion at all compromises professionalism and shows weakness. I know other officers who believe that the very nature of police work is compassionate since we sacrifice so much so often to help total strangers. Truth be told, whatever compassion we carry around with us - as a part of who we are - is going to be displayed to some extent when we work. We can no more turn it off than we can the love for our families or our need for food. But that level of compassion is different for virtually every cop - so no two cops are going to agree on what the right amount of “understanding” is to show.
Law limits it. In some states officers have discretion over whether or not they arrest for most misdemeanor crimes. Some crimes have mandatory arrest conditions (domestic violence is like this every where I know of). The amount of discretion an officer exercises is directly based on two things: the circumstances as he perceives them and his level of compassion in that given situation.
To the incident at hand: I think it could have been handled differently based on what I’ve seen in the heavily edited and editorialized video clips. By the same token, I don’t feel that the driver’s violations of traffic law were justified by the family emergency. Is that cold to say? Maybe. Think about it though: if having a family member in the hospital - dying or otherwise - is an excuse to break the law, then why have the laws in the first place?
I believe I would have approached this much as the officer did - and I can understand why the officer’s adrenaline would have been pumping after this chase that finally ended in a parking lot with the driver and passengers jumping out of the car. Yeah… dangerous moment. It would not have been pleasant. BUT, once I had ascertained that there actually WAS a dying family member in the hospital, I would have asked the driver to give me his driver’s license and then go tend ot his family business. That way I’d have had time to calm down; think about the whole situation start to finish; perhaps consult with a more senior or experience officer on his opinion about it. I’m sure there was a way compassion and enforcement could have mixed to perform my duties without having generated such a blast of criticism nationwide.
But again… I still say this never would have been news if it had been Joe Citizen. Don’t delude yourself: that cop is “under the gun” because the driver was an NFL player. Anybody else and the incident never would have been heard about outside Dallas.
What do you think?
You hit the nail on the head with your comment concerning the police officer’s being criticized based on a heavily edited video. The one thing that I noticed in watching the video was the actions of the vehicle’s occupants, when they finally stopped(after having disregarded the officer’s attempt for quite some distance) they immediately and abruptly bailed out of the vehicle. I will also agree with you on the points concerning what the officer observed, was thinking and his experiences. I found an unedited video, released by one of the Dallas TV stations, which somewhat confirms what I have just written.If you watch the entire video you will hear the driver of the suv begin to speak in a more civil tone as he and the officer continue to talk. Having not been present and having only a narrow viewpoint, ie the video, a rational person cannot make an informed decision as to whether the incident was right,wrong or something in between.
What amazed me was how quickly the officer’s own chief threw him under the bus so quickly before an internal investigation had even been completed. It seems like the Chief wanted to escape responsibility as soon as possible and cater to media influenced public opinion. Dallas this past January had just instituted a policy of impounding the vehicles of uninsured motorists as per a city ordinance that was recently passed. It would follow that they probably created a rule that officers MUST tow uninsured vehicles. Could this possibly be a reason that the officer was so insistent on seeing the proof of insurance? Maybe it wasn’t discretionary? It may have been REQUIRED of him by his department. Was this issue ever addressed during his academy training or field training? There are alot of questions that remain unanswered. Some beat reporters in Dallas informally asked some of the Dallas officers what they thought about the video. They reported that older officers were critical of the officer but that generally younger officers thought he did nothing wrong. It that’s true, and the officer didn’t handle the incident the way the Chief thinks his officers should handle it then he needs to fix it with better training and/or updated rules and regulations. The Chief so far has taken zero personal responsibility and I believe real leaders aren’t afraid to take responsibility and then fix whatever the problem is, not throw their subordinates under a bus to absolve themselves from criticism.
I agree with Homer and Bob, especially Bob when it comes to the chief. Most figure heads in the dept. ie,chief, deputy chief, commander, etc are just that, figureheads who rode a desk their whole career never working the streets and kissing whatever ass they could to move up the ranks. Show me a chief that was a street cop and I’ll show you a heck of a leader.
I agree that the tape wouldn’t be news if the driver wasn’t an NFL player, but really is that how we should judge the incident. The officer action were callous. And guess what…just following the rules and making sure that the laws are upheld to the letter of the law , doesn’t make him right. He was wrong. I expect more from the police. I expect them to show good judgement. He didn’t and I’d respect him more and police more if he had..
One question, do you think a police officer would have received the same treatment? And worse yet..an average white man like me?
The Chief is responsible for everything his officer does - or fails to do. Whether the officer was right or wrong, the department (Cheif) should still support him with positive acknowkedgments or support him with words of encouragement to become better trained. Treating him like a “red-headed stepchild” is not how officers follow you through a door!!
I totally agree. Frank, you said everything I was thinking. Could not of said it better myself.
This is an amazing world we live in. I don’t think I know a cop who after observing ANY traffic offense, attempted to make the stop and the driver did not immediatly stop. I am certain that those hairs on the back of our necks would have stood up and caused an alerted reaction upon contact with the driver. I think the nail was hit on the head when stated that if this was Joe Citizen this wouldn’t have been a big deal. How about this one…what if Moats had just stopped immedatly, stated the emergency….I bet the officer would have acted totally different and let him go. All I am saying is if I am involved in a chase my firearm is coming out as well. Could he have not continued with the threats of jail after finding out the circumstance….yes…but again our job is not the normal 9 to 5 and things are not always status quo. Things can always be argued in retrospect. Truth is Moats should had run the light to begin with and this lynching by his deptartment and the media is uncalled for. Don’t get me wrong Mr Moats loss is traggic and hard for any family. But the one thing never really stated was….and not trying to be cold hearted….if Moats had even been stopped and detained for that short period…..would he have still been able to see his in law for certain before she passed. If not this officer lossing his career and the attention this recieved is even more uncalled for.
Average Citizen,
Guess what… following the rules and making sure the laws were upheld is EXACTLY what made Officer Powell right. All you are doing is showing an example of how badly respect for the “rules and law” is getting in this country. “If it inconveniences me I shouldn’t have to obey the law” is becoming the norm it seems. Don’t think the drug laws are fair? No problem, fire up that joint or bowl of crack or meth and then go to work and drive that bulldozer into a day care center. Don’t feel like obeying the speed limit? Ok, do 100 MPH down the interstate and don’t worry if you cause an accident and kill someone. Don’t feel like you should have to pay taxes? No problems, just fortify your house, stockpile an arsenal and shoot it out with the cops when we get there.
Between this kind of attitude and the idiotic idol worship we give to sports players and the Hollywood crowd it is no wonder people like Paris Hilton or Ryan Moats feel ENTITLED to special treatment. Yippee, you play a child’s game and make an obscene amount of money doing it or ride the party circuit in California - good for you. That does not give you an exemption from obeying the law.
I am in full agreement with Frank on this one: the fact Moats’ mother in law was dying in the hospital did NOT give him the right to blow stop signs, speed and not stop for Officer Powell when he hit his lights and siren. Powell may have been a bit unprofessional but that is an OPINION, not a fact. As long as he did not violate the law or department policy he was perfectly correct in his behavior. About the worst thing I would hang on this young officer is that he made an error in judgment. That’s right a simple mistake. You and I make dozens of them a week and I’ll bet you are never crucified in the media for any of them, let alone having unqualified and ignorant people second guessing your decision.
And to answer your other questions: no the fact you are a “average” white guy would not have made one iota of difference to me. Neither would you having been a cop, in fact I am harder on fellow officers than I am on the general public. I cut other LEOs citations for traffic violations I let civilians slide on because we are supposed to be the example of the law not the exception to it. And it has had no detrimental impact on my career at all, in fact the times I have hung paper on another cop and explained my reasons for it they actually thanked me for reminding them that people are watching us and looking for excuses to make all of us out to be out of control cowboys on a power trip – like this incident has been turned into over the fact this jackass happened to be an NFL player instead of some working class guy.
I wonder – were you this holier-than-thou when Donte Stallworth killed Mario Reyes in a DUI crash a few weeks ago? Do you get up on your high horse and deride every ball player or Hollywood darling when they cross the line or do you just save your invective for those of us in law enforcement who have the misfortune of making an honest mistake?
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. Sounds like sound advice to me.
The Chief in Dallas is a spineless, gutless excuse for a leader and I guarantee his officers have no confidence in him.
I can understand that the Officer was probably a little jacked up by the drivers actions and without the full video it looks bad. I would say though that from what I have heard on the portions released, the Officer took a red light violation way too personal. If you cannot hear his anger in his voice you must be tone deaf. Police Officers are trained to deescalate situations not escalate them.
I live here, in the DFW area, and know the intersection as well as the distance to the hospital from there. We’re talking a total distance of 1000 meters. From the time, the officer, “lit up” the vehicle, I would assume that he had the chance to call in the plate. When the SUV eventually stopped at the ER, the officer should have an somewhat of an idea as to who was the owner, and possibly in the vehicle. (Not that it would have mattered. No one in Dallas cares about a bench-warmer for the Texans.) When the vehicle stopped and every occupant jumped out and headed into the building, the officer did the right thing to regain control. Up until this pont, I agree with 100% of the officer’s actions. Upon learning that the situation, he could have just as easily walked with the driver into the well lit and recorded Emergency Department. Once inside, if the situation was an accurate description of what the driver had stated, he could have issued a citation or given verbal and offered his sympathy. If he, instead, learned that the driver had lied, then “Katy-bar-the-door.” Failing the opportunity to resolve it this way, he once again failed to show sympathy when approached by the Baylor Security Officer, nurse, and Plano PD, he should have taken the opportunity to go inside.
Although, he made some juvenile mistakes, and took things more personal than I would have liked to see, he did not violate anyone’s rights, nor did anything illegal. I was surprised that Chief Kunkle made a public statement so quickly. That disappointed me, because a leader stands up for his people, when they are right in their actions. (Even if said actions are not popular.) This is the point to provide some corrective action thatis handled internally.
This story really irks me. I agree about the suspect being an NFL player is why it went to the level that it did. For the officers out there that have been critical of how he handled the stop all I say is put yourself in his position. You conduct a traffic stop and when the vehicle stops the occupants exit the vehicle begins to walk away towards the inside of the hospital. He dosen’t have control of the occupants of his vehicle stop. At this time his saftey is at the highest possible risk. He dosen’t know who he is dealing with, he was attempting to gain control of his situation. The part that really irks me is that the officer has apologized for any mistakes that he made. He has had the time to sit back and think about it and hash through it and now knowing what he knows thinks he would have done it differently. Fair enough. I have respect for him. He owned up to any wrong doing. He was ACCOUNTABLE for his actions! He didn’t try to blame any policies of his department or shed blame elsewhere. Mistake or not it shows that he has honor to accept the outcome of his actions. I know I wouldn’t have a problem working with an officer who accepts responsibility for himself.
I agree that up to a certain point the officer did nothing wrong. But after numeerous people informed him as well as a fellow officer that this person was telling the true, it was time to show some respect for the dying. The author is MMQing himself when he states he know that if it had been Joe Citizen this would not been on the news. Did Mr. Moats in anyway make himself out to be a above the law citizen because he was a NFL player, no. As a matter of fact he did not even file a complaint, the incident came to light because of the complaint of the Plano PD officer because be felt the officer was wrong. And hear this very carefully, HE WAS THERE. Plus it seems you tell people to go be all you can be, but the author states and I quote “I think it is unacceptable beyond expression that people all across this great country of ours have criticized a man who puts his life on the line for the community he serves every day in support of a man who gets paid far too much to play a GAME.” Remember Moats chose a carreer as a football player and Ofc Powell chose a carreer as a LEO, and we cannot put one down or lift one up for his choices.