When I started looking for controversial topics in the newspaper, I found out that it didn’t take long for a heartbreaking act of authoritative abuse by a police officer came up in a couple of days. Racism is still alive today, and it sucks to think that we still live in a world where when you run a red light, just because of the color of your skin, you are automatically stereotyped and assumed to have a gun. The terrible act that I’m referring to was committed by an Officer Powell of the Dallas Police Department in a suburb of Dallas, Plano, on March 26, 2009. This event is particularly significant to me because my house in Dallas is nearly two blocks from the incident. I think the whole incident got twisted when the news stated it was at a Plano Hospital so millions of people think the Plano police were at fault, when really if you watched the video on Sportcenter that night, the Plano officer tries to help the NFL player Ryan Moats to get inside the hospital he was speeding to get to. You might ask why a man would ever run a red light to get to a hospital??? Not! The reason is simple that even a man with low social intelligence I think could handle. But obviously in this case, the officer did not show his best judgment when approaching this situation. Personally, I find that police often abuse their power and at the frequency of these occurrences it is perplexing that not too many are made public. But on this chilly night in Dallas, Ryan Moats was speeding furiously to get his wife to her mother who had seconds to live. And when I try to put myself in this woman’s situation, I can’t think of anything that would stop me from seeing my mother right before she left me on this earth. And even if there was a gun pointed at me, similar to the actions of Officer Robert Powell toward the Moats family, I would not let it stop me from getting to her before she passed. This officer was patrolling the corner of George Bush and Preston, and when Ryan Moats ran this red light, this routine traffic violation turned to national news when the officer drew his weapon on the young family. And the act of pulling your weapon out and pointing it towards a weaponless black AMERICAN woman trying to see her dying mother, it is RACISM. But all my ranting aside, let me and you seriously consider the facts of the case. This white officer was on duty with my family’s tax dollars paying his salary. He represents the city of Dallas and all the actions portrayed by him reflect on the entire city. That’s a pretty powerful statement if you think about it; the entire city of Dallas is represented by this one man’s actions. IT IS SAD. Let me give you some quotes so you too can form your own opinions about this officer.
Powell: “I turned my red and blues on as you went over the bridge, and you are legally required to stop, what you are doing does not matter, I can charge you with fleeing right now.
“Shut your mouth and listen… I can screw you over and your attitude can dictate what happens.”
Even after the officer realizes that he made a mistake and probably should have showed some discretion, he continues to tell Moats to shut his mouth and threatens the young running back with all the things he could charge him with, my favorite of those was fleeing. After watching the unedited police video, I became furious when I hear Officer Powell bragging to other officers about one police chase he had, rather than feeling bad for the African American family whatsoever. I would have liked to see the officer be more apologetic to the family for what he had done. But, there is a sad truth that comes with this certain scenario, and that is that police lack sympathy towards a majority of the public. And not just African Americans citizens , but all Americans.
You might ask yourself what this article has to do with black families in America, and I am happy to say that I have an answer for that question. The answer is simple, the woman. Tamishia Collinsworth was faced with a life changing moment and it dealt with her mother. And even after this incident, she was asked if she thought the incident involved race. And she was quoted as saying, "We're not the kind of people who play the racial card. We're not those people. We have been brought up in a very diverse society."
Her forgiveness is the true meaning of family values and I bet Tamisha’s mother would be proud of her daughter.
Tamisha's mother died before Ryan could get into the hospital.
Thursday
March 26, 2009
Sportcenter – channel 721 (Cox Cable)
Television
African American Family – Wife, Aunt, Uncle, and Husband
Positive Image
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-jJsFdnckU
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I'm not sure if you saw Officer Powell's public apology or not, but I was far from impressed or feeling at ease. I can only imagine what it would be like to be Ms. Collinsworth, not being able to be with her mother during her final moments, the tragedy of it is... this probably happens regularly. I don't think the racial part is as openly played in an event like this, but more along the lines of power play. This officer was clearly abusing his appointed authority, as is often the case with many officers. So many feel they are the law when they're alone with the offender, and they make this thought well known.
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