Inexcusable behavior by DPD officer

[Purplehood]

We will revisit this once all of the reports have come in and the investigation is over and we will see if it is spurious reasoning. You do not wake up one day and act like he did, this is showing to be a pattern. You think he is above physical abuse when it is obvious that he has power issues. I too dislike the media but if it was not for the Plano cop, which I respect, DPD would have swept this so far under the rug, you would have never heard about it. The last I heard there was 3 different people who have now come out against this guy and I am sure there will be more once they do not fear him anymore.

I think you are totally missing my point.

Who said he was above physical abuse? I did however state that it is a leap of faith to assume that physical abuse ever occured in the first place. Just where did that come from?

I understand being annoyed, but I don't understand attributing various criminal activities to a person because of one particular behavior set. Maybe I need to watch more TV and fancy myself a forensic psychologist.

[Liberty]

I too dislike the media but if it was not for the Plano cop, which I respect, DPD would have swept this so far under the rug, you would have never heard about it. The last I heard there was 3 different people who have now come out against this guy and I am sure there will be more once they do not fear him anymore.

I think its a little unfair to claim tha DPD would sweep it under the rug. DPD would not have known their was a problem until the Plano officer complaiined about it. Moats never made a complaint.

[DEADEYE1964]

We will revisit this once all of the reports have come in and the investigation is over and we will see if it is spurious reasoning. You do not wake up one day and act like he did, this is showing to be a pattern. You think he is above physical abuse when it is obvious that he has power issues. I too dislike the media but if it was not for the Plano cop, which I respect, DPD would have swept this so far under the rug, you would have never heard about it. The last I heard there was 3 different people who have now come out against this guy and I am sure there will be more once they do not fear him anymore.

I think you are totally missing my point.

Who said he was above physical abuse? I did however state that it is a leap of faith to assume that physical abuse ever occured in the first place. Just where did that come from?

I understand being annoyed, but I don't understand attributing various criminal activities to a person because of one particular behavior set. Maybe I need to watch more TV and fancy myself a forensic psychologist.

I apologize, I worded the sentence incorrectly, I meant to ask the question, do you think he is above physical abuse when it is obvious he has power issues ? You do not need to be a forensic psychologist, just read a few books to know that people who struggle with abusing power have a real high probability of physical abuse, that is where that comes from. I do not believe or say there was physical abuse in this case, let's just see if it surfaces when the people come forward and the investigation is over. I hope I am wrong.

[DEADEYE1964]

I too dislike the media but if it was not for the Plano cop, which I respect, DPD would have swept this so far under the rug, you would have never heard about it. The last I heard there was 3 different people who have now come out against this guy and I am sure there will be more once they do not fear him anymore.

I think its a little unfair to claim tha DPD would sweep it under the rug. DPD would not have known their was a problem until the Plano officer complaiined about it. Moats never made a complaint.

Are you saying that if the Plano cop did not come forward and DPD found out another way, they would discipline the officer ? I am saying that he would have gotten a slap on the wrist if that plus if the media did not have the story, all of these other cases would not be coming out so DPD would not know the extent of the problem they have. I do believe in taking care of things internally but that does not mean ignoring the problem. Trust me, there would not of been the news conference and public apology if the media did not have a hold of this.

[Wrightwing]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... caed3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Officer Powell resigned this morning.

[frazzled]

Excellent.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I am sorry to see he resigned. I was critical of his actions in a prior post and I stand by my comments, especially as they refer to the negative impact on other Dallas PD Officers. I saw his interview last night on KHOU Ch. 11 and I accept his apology. He didn't try to justify his actions and he admitted that he acted poorly. He went on to say that he thought about how he would have felt if it had been his mother, and he would handle it differently if he had it to do over again. Unfortunately, none of us get a "do-over."

Many will claim his apology was not sincere, but an attempt to keep his job. Perhaps, perhaps not, none of us will know for sure. But that can be said about anyone's apology. What I saw was a 26 year old "kid" who has only been with DPD for three years. I suspect that he will never act that way towards a citizen again. I say this not based solely on the predicament he created for himself, but on my experience as recruiting director for the large firm I was with before starting my own law firm.

For ten years I was responsible for law clerks and "baby lawyers" in addition to my own law practice. Many of my partners would want to fire a "baby lawyer" that made a mistake, regardless of how remorseful they were about missing something. If I felt the person truly cared about screwing up, as opposed to a nonchalant attitude, then I wouldn't fire them on a first offense. People who make a mistake, especially a major one, are far less likely to do it again, if they truly care about their professionalism. I was seldom proven wrong by people who got the proverbial second chance.

I'm sure Officer Powell has learned a lot and he will either be a better officer because of it, or he will become bitter and his law enforcement career will be shortened. Too bad he won't get the chance to do it at Dallas PD. I'm sure a lot of my friends here on TexasCHLforum will think I'm being too soft on the officer, but if we were all drawn and quartered for our youthful mistakes, rather than being given an opportunity to learn from them and improve, few of us would be where we are in life. I remember well a comment I made to a judge when I was a baby lawyer that brought the "wrath of god" down on me and embarrassed the senior partner in our firm who was standing next to me at a hearing. The judge later became a good friend, the senior partner said "don't worry, your job is safe, but if you ever do that again I'll kill you!" I never did. For me, I guess it goes back to something said 2,000 years ago; "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Chas.

[flack vest on]

[frazzled]

I am sorry to see he resigned. I was critical of his actions in a prior post and I stand by my comments, especially as they refer to the negative impact on other Dallas PD Officers. I saw his interview last night on KHOU Ch. 11 and I accept his apology. He didn't try to justify his actions and he admitted that he acted poorly. He went on to say that he thought about how he would have felt if it had been his mother, and he would handle it differently if he had it to do over again. Unfortunately, none of us get a "do-over."

Many will claim his apology was not sincere, but an attempt to keep his job. Perhaps, perhaps not, none of us will know for sure. But that can be said about anyone's apology. What I saw was a 26 year old "kid" who has only been with DPD for three years. I suspect that he will never act that way towards a citizen again. I say this not based solely on the predicament he created for himself, but on my experience as recruiting director for the large firm I was with before starting my own law firm.

[flack vest on]

Respectfully,

Whether or not he apologized is irrelevant
Whether or not he was sincere is especially irrelevant.

He was an unfit employee and demonstrated complete incompetence. Like every other employee who acted incompetently, he should have been fired.

[Keith B]

I am sorry to see he resigned. I was critical of his actions in a prior post and I stand by my comments, especially as they refer to the negative impact on other Dallas PD Officers. I saw his interview last night on KHOU Ch. 11 and I accept his apology. He didn't try to justify his actions and he admitted that he acted poorly. He went on to say that he thought about how he would have felt if it had been his mother, and he would handle it differently if he had it to do over again. Unfortunately, none of us get a "do-over."

Many will claim his apology was not sincere, but an attempt to keep his job. Perhaps, perhaps not, none of us will know for sure. But that can be said about anyone's apology. What I saw was a 26 year old "kid" who has only been with DPD for three years. I suspect that he will never act that way towards a citizen again. I say this not based solely on the predicament he created for himself, but on my experience as recruiting director for the large firm I was with before starting my own law firm.

[flack vest on]

Respectfully,

Whether or not he apologized is irrelevant
Whether or not he was sincere is especially irrelevant.

He was an unfit employee and demonstrated complete incompetence. Like every other employee who acted incompetently, he should have been fired.

OK, we will remember that when someone on the forum makes a mistake and ban them immediately.

As to Officer Powell, depending on his past record, he may have needed to be relieved of duty as this was one more stone in the backpack. Unfortunately he didn't have much option as he was ostracized by the media and public. He felt it was a losing proposition and the only way out was to resign. Was he wrong in his actions and demeanor? Yes. Does he deserve to be relieved of duty? Possibly. But maybe counseling and coaching would be a better option and put him on probation if he has no previous history of abuse. We will now never know.

I am like Charles and believe you have to learn from your mistakes and grow. I sure have been given second and sometimes third chances on errors I made. I have passed along those courtesies to folks who worked for me. If not for giving another chance, I can guarantee the unemployment rate would be about 99%.

[frazzled]

OK, we will remember that when someone on the forum makes a mistake and ban them immediately.

As to Officer Powell, depending on his past record, he may have needed to be relieved of duty as this was one more stone in the backpack. Unfortunately he didn't have much option as he was ostracized by the media and public. He felt it was a losing proposition and the only way out was to resign. Was he wrong in his actions and demeanor? Yes. Does he deserve to be relieved of duty? Possibly. But maybe counseling and coaching would be a better option and put him on probation if he has no previous history of abuse. We will now never know.

I am like Charles and believe you have to learn from your mistakes and grow. I sure have been given second and sometimes third chances on errors I made. I have passed along those courtesies to folks who worked for me. If not for giving another chance, I can guarantee the unemployment rate would be about 99%.

In private business you would be given the opportunity to learn from your mistakes of that level...somewhere else. This wasn't a minor error but a major mistake in judgement. PR errors especially create opportunities for alternate employment options.

He should have been fired. He resigned. Everything is good.

[flintknapper]

I am sorry to see he resigned. I was critical of his actions in a prior post and I stand by my comments, especially as they refer to the negative impact on other Dallas PD Officers. I saw his interview last night on KHOU Ch. 11 and I accept his apology. He didn't try to justify his actions and he admitted that he acted poorly. He went on to say that he thought about how he would have felt if it had been his mother, and he would handle it differently if he had it to do over again. Unfortunately, none of us get a "do-over."

Many will claim his apology was not sincere, but an attempt to keep his job. Perhaps, perhaps not, none of us will know for sure. But that can be said about anyone's apology. What I saw was a 26 year old "kid" who has only been with DPD for three years. I suspect that he will never act that way towards a citizen again. I say this not based solely on the predicament he created for himself, but on my experience as recruiting director for the large firm I was with before starting my own law firm.

For ten years I was responsible for law clerks and "baby lawyers" in addition to my own law practice. Many of my partners would want to fire a "baby lawyer" that made a mistake, regardless of how remorseful they were about missing something. If I felt the person truly cared about screwing up, as opposed to a nonchalant attitude, then I wouldn't fire them on a first offense. People who make a mistake, especially a major one, are far less likely to do it again, if they truly care about their professionalism. I was seldom proven wrong by people who got the proverbial second chance.

I'm sure Officer Powell has learned a lot and he will either be a better officer because of it, or he will become bitter and his law enforcement career will be shortened. Too bad he won't get the chance to do it at Dallas PD. I'm sure a lot of my friends here on TexasCHLforum will think I'm being too soft on the officer, but if we were all drawn and quartered for our youthful mistakes, rather than being given an opportunity to learn from them and improve, few of us would be where we are in life. I remember well a comment I made to a judge when I was a baby lawyer that brought the "wrath of god" down on me and embarrassed the senior partner in our firm who was standing next to me at a hearing. The judge later became a good friend, the senior partner said "don't worry, your job is safe, but if you ever do that again I'll kill you!" I never did. For me, I guess it goes back to something said 2,000 years ago; "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Chas.

[flack vest on]

Respectfully, I do agree with many of the principles you espouse. However, this case....was so over the top on so many levels... that I just can not excuse this officer's behavior or allow for a "do over".

These people were barely out of their vehicle... that they were at gun point. That is hardly the correct "force continuum" (although I'm sure this will invite argument).

The first minute into this incident should have "cleared things up" for officer powell. It is plain that he was more interested in exercising his authority...than in resolving the matter in the best manner (considering the circumstance). And yes, he was well aware of the circumstance shortly into this stop.

I'm not too much into "giving second chances" where peoples lives are at stake.

I give much credit to the DPD and the Plano officer....who immediately recognized the inappropriate behavior and seriousness of the event. Proud of them!

[frazzled]

I give much credit to the DPD and the Plano officer....who immediately recognized the inappropriate behavior and seriousness of the event. Proud of them!

Ditto that. Thats also why this needs to be smacked down hard. Its a PR blunder impacting all the good officers out there.

[tfrazier]

...What I saw was a 26 year old "kid" who has only been with DPD for three years. I suspect that he will never act that way towards a citizen again.... ...For me, I guess it goes back to something said 2,000 years ago; "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Chas.

[flack vest on]

I'd also like to add: Nobody gets better without making a few mistakes (except for the Originator of the "first stone" statement Charles quoted) and learning from those mistakes; even though the bar is justifiably raised when it comes to the law enforcement profession, people should consider the fact that these guys spend a lot of time putting themselves in harm's way. If every cop was fired immediately for being rude to a citizen or using 'poor judgement', we'd be out of officers in record time.

Like a salty old sergeant at Greenville P.D. told me when he was blemishing my beautiful stack of commendations with my first reprimand, "Get over it. If you don't have a stack of reprimands at least as thick as your stack of commendations, you ain't been doing your job."

The job of a patrol officer is so full of split second decisions and legal complications nobody on the planet has the ability to do it perfectly all the time.

I'd be shocked if Powell hasn't done a lot of good things and even risked his life to help someone out over the past three years or so.

One 'uh-oh wipes out a thousand 'Attaboys!'...and nobody is digging for those facts anyway, are they?

At least Charles was smart enough to put on the flak vest...I forgot mine when I waded into this thread.

[Wildscar]

What makes me mad about this whole situation is the one sidedness of all the media reports and radio interviews that are done. There was a major mistake. The family should not have jumped out of the vehicle and ran away from the officer in the manner they did. If I was an officer I would have draw my service weapon also and I would not have holstered it until the threat was determined to be non aggressive threat. That should be a non issue. Their actions were also in the wrong but do you see them berated and dragged thought the mud. No! They have not apologized for their actions either. They were in the wrong for what they did as well.

Then you have the media and their one sided biased reporting that painted this officer up and down in a negative way. So now every Tim, Mick, and Harry are going to think they can do whatever they want during a traffic stop. The officer was in the right legally. Morally his compassion might have faltered but that didn’t come until later in the traffic stop. Did he make a mistake yes. He was not the only one that did that night. Did he make a mistake that he should have lost his job over. No. Maybe placed behind a desk but to lost his job is a more that he deserved. I know he resigned but that was probably more from the overwhelming flack he is getting from everything and everyone around him. He is human after all.

I would share my story with about being detained by LEOs one night because of a mistake but that would not make a difference since most of yall have made up your mind so completely about this issue. I have more reason to hate LEOs than most but I still stand behind them because of the job they do.

[stevie_d_64]

Unfortunate that he resigned, from the aspect of the media driving the hype to the department in this case...The former officer resigning was just icing on the cake for the media, to give them (media) the satisfaction that they accomplished this goal...And the goal of the people on the sidelines gently prepared to drop the race card if it needed to be played...

I think he should have gutted it out with the DPD, and proven himself to have corrected those difficiencies in his attitude over time...Yes, the stigma of his unprofessional behavior would have stuck to him for a very long time...But he would have succeeded if he had the backing of the department with those goals in mind...But he didn't and was not going to get it anyway...

I haven't seen it yet, but the national media hasn't picked this up, and probably won't due to the One being on his European Tour...

Who knows...Powell might get a job down here with HPD...