Good news, we suppose, coming from the DALLAS MORNING NEWS today, as Robert Powell, the guy who may have misinterpreted the situation a skosh when he detained Ryan Moats in a hospital parking lot while Moats’ mother-in-law passed away inside, has resigned over the incident. That’s “resigned,” as in quit, not “re-signed,” as in got a contract extension. The only people who do that for the incompetent are the Knicks.

(What was once a bad tattoo is now… an insanely bad tattoo.)

Powell’s resignation comes amid increased scrutiny of his actions, which include detaining Zach Thomas‘ wife for five hours over an illegal U-turn and bragging about fighting with a suspect while her 7-year old daughter watched. In other words, some time out of the spotlight is probably exactly what Powell’s looking for.

We’ll give him credit for one thing, though; the contrition in his written statement appears genuine. Read more…

Recall if you will (and it’s pretty difficult to forget) the flagrant mistreatment of Houston Texans tailback Ryan Moats by Robert Powell, an officer with the Dallas Police Department. Just because it bears repeating, Moats and his wife were held at gunpoint by Powell after Moats rolled through a red light after stopping and checking for traffic, then pulled into the hospital two blocks away instead of stopping immediately for Powell. Moats was then detained and lectured in a cruelly authoritarian manner by Powell outside the hospital as his mother-in-law passed away.

(Oh, and pointing a gun at Moats’ wife, at right, wasn’t a good move either.)

As the story has caught the nation’s attention, the Dallas PD has decided to run some damage control, issuing a public apology to Moats and placing Powell on a paid suspension (it’s like a vacation, but instead of going to a beach, you worry). And yet we can’t help but wonder if there’d be any publicity, suspension, apology or anything if Moats wasn’t a professional athlete.

Read more…