PLANO, Texas (AP) — A Dallas police officer has been reassigned to dispatch after he delayed Houston Texans' running back Ryan Moats from visiting his dying mother-in-law in a Plano hospital.
Moats is black, while the Officer Robert Powell is white.
Moats and family members were rushing from their suburban Dallas home to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano early on March 18 after getting word that Jonetta Collinsworth was dying of breast cancer.
WFAA-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth reports Powell stopped the Moats' vehicle in the hospital parking lot after it ran a red light. The Dallas Morning News reports Moats explained to the officer that he waited until there was no traffic before proceeding through the red light.
By the time the 26-year-old NFL player received a ticket and a lecture from Powell, at least 13 minutes had passed and Collinsworth was dead.
The Moatses say they believe race played a part in how Powell treated them.
Dallas police have dropped the ticket. Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson says officers should assist people in distress, not add to their distress.
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