Just when I was starting to feel some sympathy for Robert Powell, the flood gates open.  I  have previously written about this October 21, 2006 entry on his Xanga Blog:

“You drink, You drive, You rear end another car, You don’t speak english, You smell like alcohol, You cant stand up straight, You cant walk a straight line, You go to jail!!!”

While most of these statements when taken together seem  reasonable statements of law enforcement procedures, taken as a whole with the Ryan Moats incident, and now the Maritza Thomas incident,  the “You don’t speak English” go to jail!!! mandate from officer Powell should cause concern as to his ability to function effectively as a Dallas Police officer.

Lapses of judgment even terrible ones happen to the best of people. Hopefully they can be learned from and never repeated.  Immaturity of action can change with teaching, supervision and experience.  Ethnic and racial intolerance is learned however.  It tends to stick around and often manifests itself under stress.  A statement such as he made in a city in which has a relatively large contingent of non-English speaking  Hispanic residents** has to  be looked at as more than “youthful bad taste”.

Maritza Thomas is Hispanic.  She is the wife of NFL linebacker Zach Thomas.  She has come forward to allege mistreatment at the hands of officer Powell.

On July 27, 2008, Maritza Thomas was pulled over by Powell for an illegal U-turn.  She was issued five tickets by Powell. Thomas was handcuffed, placed in the back of a police cruiser, spent about three hours in the Dallas County Jail and was threatened with the possibility of spending the night behind bars.  Four of the five charges were subsequently dropped. The charges were failure to show proof of insurance, running a red light, having an improper address on a driver’s license and not having a registration sticker on the windshield. She accepted deferred adjudication for the illegal U-turn charge.  Her attorney, Brody Shanklin stated:

“Unless extraordinary circumstances exist, no person should be arrested for a Class C citation. In this case, it was an example of Officer Powell being overzealous and exerting his authority in a manner that he never should have.”

Her mother, Teresa Lozano, speaks little English, was forced to ride with the tow truck when the car was impounded. She later posted bail for her daughter’s release.

“My mom was begging for him to let her go to the apartment that was five minutes away to get the paperwork,” Maritza Thomas said. “He unbuckled his holster, and she got scared.”

Officers do have the authority to make an arrest for Class C misdemeanor tickets.  Many officer have come to the defense of officer Powell in the Thomas case.

“If there are so many violations that it could be viewed that it’s an egregious situation, that person can be arrested,” said Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson, who oversees the department’s seven patrol divisions”

“It’s a judgment thing on the cops at that moment,” Simpson said. “The core of what we do is just discretion, and it needs

While no dashcam is available there ,  there is  no evidence that Mrs. Thomas or her mother exhibited any provocation or disrespect unless being anxious and emotional at the prospect of  going to jail is in itself disrespectful.  Mrs. Thomas has NOT alleged that race played any part in her arrest.

Is this incident in itself definitive as to Mr. Powell’s attitudes towards minorities?  Of course not.  Should this incident combined with the Moats incident and his  blog postings be cause for concern as to his beliefs in this area warranting further investigation before a decision is made as to his fitness to continue as a Dallas Police officer? It would be irresponsible on the part of the Dallas Police Department not to look into it.

I have tried and tried but can not come up with any context in which his “…you dont speak English… you go to jail!!” statement can be looked at as proper, innocuous or can be taken out of context in itself.  While I have a law degree and a Criminal Justice degree I admittedly have never been a cop.  Is there some set of circumstances in which not  speaking English is a legitimate factor in arresting someone? In the end his words speak volumes about his law enforcement views and temperament for the job.

In the end, everything else aside, officer Powell’s threshold of frustration in dealing with language barrier and other “part of the job” conflict appears  low.  It appears he deals with  this frustration by throwing immature internal tantrums.  Tantrums that manifest themselves in threats of jail, actual arrest or other inappropriate comments.   Do you know who else throws language barrier tantrums?  Two year olds throw them.  There is no room for two year olds on the Dallas Police Department.

Regardless of how else Officer Powell conducts himself in other aspects of his life, the Martiza Thomas incident, Ryan Moats incident and his blog postings taken together confirm that he simply does not have the temperament for a job that requires the ultimate in temperamental control and discretion.

The average person changes jobs 10 times into her/her 40′s.  People often discover they are not suited for particular careers.  They move on.  Maybe it is time for officer Powell to move on to his second choice.

**March 30, 12:30 pm:  I had the opportunity to speak with a police officer from a large department adjacent to Dallas.  He stated that in his opinion there is NEVER a circumstance where someone’s inability to speak English would be an appropriate factor in a decision to arrest.  His department like most departments has procedures in place such as a “language line” to ensure there is always someone available to translate in such a situation.

** According to Angel Reyes, author of  ” Hispanic Heresy”  53,000 Dallas Independant School District (DISD) students speak Spanish and have limited English proficiency.  There are approx. 165,000 DISD students.

As a resident of Dallas, Texas concerned about the quality and integrity of those entrusted with my safety here are some questions I would like to see answered by Dallas Police Officer Robert Powell.

If you are given the privilege of being allowed to continue to protect and serve me and the other residents of Dallas, Texas what is your plan moving forward to  ensure that the Ryan Moats incident is not the defining moment of your law enforcement career?

If you are given the privilege of being allowed to continue to protect and serve me and the other residents of Dallas, Texas what is your plan to convince me, the Moats and all other Dallas residents who you are sworn to protect and serve that what happened in front of Baylor Regional Hospital was an aberration?   Can you convince us  that it does not define who Robert Powell is as a person or a police officer?

While the Moats can never get back the moment that was taken from them, do you think that through your future conduct as a person and police officer you can make living amends to them and the residents of Dallas through your performance moving forward and to the city of Dallas itself which has received  a black eye as a result of your conduct?

What is your explanation for your Xanga blog postings which imply animus towards  non-English speaking Dallas residents.  Does this posting define who you really are?   If it does not, why should we believe you?

Finally, what have you learned?  How will you apply what you have learned moving forward?

While I can only speak for myself, If you can answer these questions with honesty and insight as to your behaviour and assuming this incident was not part of a continuing pattern of derogatory conduct, I for one am willing to give you a second chance.  I have certainly received enough of them in my life for some of my bad behviour. Not sure where I would be today without second chances.  Can’t we all say that to some degree?

Dallas Police officer Robert Powell probably wishes he had a case of the “blue flu” instead of lurking for traffic violators in Plano, Texas the other night.   He was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation over a traffic stop involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats and family.

Powell pulled Moats over for rolling through a traffic light while rushing to see his mother-in-law who lay dying in a Plano hospital.  Powell detained Moats in the hospital parking lot with gun drawn threatening to arrest him as Moats and family members pleaded to be allowed to get into the hospital to see their dying relative before she passed away.  He detained them for 13 minutes to write a traffic ticket. She died before two of the family members were able to see her.

This is despite verification from hospital employees and another police officer on the scene  that Moat’s  mother-in-law indeed lay dying in the hospital.  She  died before Moats could get to her to say goodbye.  The exchange between Powell and Moats is disturbing to say the least.

Officer Powell stated “I can screw you over,” at one point in the videotaped incident. When another officer verified that Moats mother in law lay dying, Powell continued to detain him stating  “All right. I’m almost done.”

The incident has garnered national attention and outrage over the conduct of officer Powell who when confronted with the police dash cam video of the stop maintained he did nothing inappropriate.

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle  held a news conference to apologize for the behavior of officer Powell.  In announcing that Powell had been placed on paid administrative leave pending investigation Kunkle stated:

“His behavior in my opinion, did not exhibit the common sense, discretion, the compassion that we expect our officers to exhibit”

“When we in the command staff reviewed the tapes,” he said, “we were embarrassed, disappointed — it’s hard to find the right words and still be professional in my role as a police chief.”

“My understanding is that Officer Powell, even when he saw the videotape, believed he had not acted inappropriately,”

While most people agree that Officer Powell exercised poor judgment should that be the end of it?  Should he be terminated? Suspended? Back to work with a reprimand?   Are there racial implications?  The Moats family thinks so.  Members stated that they can’t help but think that race might have played a part in the white officer’s behavior. (The Moats are African-American and Powell is white.)

While it is unfortunate it happens this way, high profile incidents can be considered a necessary impetus to change in a bureaucratic organization.  I decided to ask some of my 2600 plus Facebook friends what they think.  Here are some of the responses:

“No I don’t think he should be fired.  I think that they should admit the officer into a sensitivity class and try to help him do better.  I do not believe it was the officers intention to for the man to not see his dieing mother-in-law.  I think he was just being a hard-***.  Many people are that way at work.”-Cathie

“I feel firing him would actually benefit the already lacking public opinion of the DPD.  I think it would make a statement that they are not going to put up with the stupidity that has plagued the department for years.  It’s about making the public believe you are trying to change the way they are seen!!”-Sheila

“fire him and public lynching!  j/k w/ the lynching but definitely needs to be fired!  Police officers are supposed to serve and protect the public…not harass them.”-Jennifer

“Fire his ass. After reviewing his own dash cam, Powell said he was doing his job. I can’t help to think that race was an issue. Aside from race, his statement indicated he will continue to show such judgement in the future. He may have been doing his job, but he is doing it poorly. Firing him is not a personal thing to do, it s the professional thing to do.”-Robert

“His job is to protect and serve. He did neither. As in any job, not abiding by the rules get you terminated. Poor judgment is a poor excuse!-Tara

“He should not be fired. he was doing his job. He exercised poor judgment but that’s about it”-Brian

What do I think ?

I initially reacted angrily and emotionally calling for Robert Powell’s head.   There was no doubt in my mind he should be immediately terminated.  I then calmed down.  Should a person be crucified for one mistake even a tragic one such as this without considering his  body of work? (Powell has been on the force for three years)  Is it an isolated incident?  Any other complaints against this officer?   Will he learn from it?  In other words,  is he a good cop caught up in a terrible lapse of judgment?  It  happens even to those held to a higher standard.  Then  I watched the video again.   I was again  sickened.  Then I heard Chief Kunkle state that Powell showed no remorse for his actions.  I was again disgusted.  I was once again emotional and angry.

Officer Robert Powell should be fired.  He does not have the temperament for the job.  This further evidenced by entries from  his  Xanga Site (He has taken it down but I cached it)  I did not realize not having a command of the English language was a crime in Dallas.  You learn something new everyday.

October 21, 2006

“You drink, You drive, You rear end another car, You don’t speak English, You smell like alcohol, You cant stand up straight, You cant walk a straight line, You go to jail!!!

As of the writing of this article, this is what officer Powell has up on his Myspace page.(3-20-09 at 3:20 pm -He has since taken down the below caption. I have therefore put the cached page up-It does not load very well)

“Blessed With Two Beautiful Children All I can do is HOLD MY HEAD UP HIGH n wait for this to blow over.Thanks to everyone that standing behind me n helping me get through this.Love U Honey!!!!

What is a “Celebrity Beatdown“?  It is the act of a celebrity’s security or  “posse-entourage” inflicting a violent pecking order of life lesson on those who refuse to acknowledge unworthiness to be  blessed with the presence of  self-anointed greatness.  A refusal to acknowledge that laws of man and universe have changed when a high profile athlete or other celebrity walks into the room.  Refusal to acknowledge a new world order.   These beatdowns almost always occur in the alcohol fueled volatility of the strip and nightclub scene.

In fairness to high profile athletes and other celebrities, they often fall victim to the “reverse beatdown.”  They walk into an environment wanting nothing more than to enjoy their drink and company in peace. They fall victim to the the 30k millionaire douchebag with an attitude looking to “makes his bones” and pay his college tuition by provoking an altercation.  It is also not unheard of for members of a celebrity entourage to actually pay someone to start something and allow them “beat them down” so they can look like heroes to the celeb.

The undisputed king of the athlete- celebrity beatdown would have to be former NFL player Pacman Jones. It would appear to be an accident if there not a posse altercation of some kind when  he walks into a club, most often of the “strip” kind.  In the music world, Kanye West seams to be well versed in the art of  beatdown as evidenced by his recent arrest arising out of an altercation at LAX airport.  The NBA is no stranger to the “celebrity beatdown”.

Allen Iverson plays professional basketball for the Detroit Pistons.  As many celebrities do, he often hires bodyguards to accompany him when he attends public events.  On  July 20 2005 Alan was attending his annual charity softball weekend event in Washington D.C.  He went out that night security in tow.  Iverson’s manager Gary Moore was in charge of hiring Iverson’s bodyguards.  He employed  Jason Kane to provide Alan security for this particular event and post event festivities.

After attending the charity event Iverson and his entourage entered the Eyebar nightclub shortly after midnight.  Jason Kane was his bodyguard.  They went straight to the small VIP area of the club, where patron Marlin Godfrey and his party were already seated at a table.

An argument broke out between Godfrey and Terrance Williams.  Mr Williams was Kane’s friend.  He sometimes worked as Iverson’s bodyguard. He just happened to be in the club that night.  Witnesses testified that  that Kane and Williams began to assert their superior “posse status” by  aggressively ordering patrons, including Godfrey and his party, to leave the VIP area to make room for Iverson and his friends.

Soon after Curtis Fitzgerald – an Eyebar security employee and friend of Kane’s and Godfrey’s – intervened to defuse the situation and move Godfrey’s party to a different table, Kane shoved Fitzgerald and the beatdown began. When Godfrey, moved toward the altercation to “help Fitzgerald, he was attacked,beaten and injured.

A lawsuit was filed  by Godfrey and one other patron David A. Kittrell, accusing Iverson, of failing to supervise his security team.

Iverson testified that he was at Eyebar for about 20 minutes and did not see the five-minute fight erupt.

The trial lasted six days. A federal jury found Iverson and bodyguard Jason Kane liable ordering them to pay 260k as well as 10k in medical expenses to Godfrey who sustained a injured rotator cuff, temporary loss of hearing and broken blood vessels in his head. Kittrell was zeroed out by the jury.

When interviewed after the trial, Juror Althea Hill said the panel believed that Iverson was liable for the fight because he hired Kane. “When you hire someone to do work for you, you should check out all aspects and know everything there is to know about your employee,” she said.

Iverson appealed the verdict. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit just recently upheld the verdict.

Here is some of the actual trial documents in the trial for your viewing pleasure. They are all in pdf format. Some files are large.  You can form your own opinions on what happened.

1.  The Verdict

2.  Witness James Daniels Deposition

3.   Witness Saul Simmington Deposition

4.   Transcript of  Terrance Williams trial testimony

5.   Jury Notes-Two questions to judge give you some perspective on what they were thinking during deliberation.

6.    Court Of Appeals decision affirming the lower court verdict.

Allen  has another “beatdown lawsuit” pending in D.C. for an incident that took place at “Zanzibar On The Waterfront“.  Gregory Broady is alleging the he received his beatdown from an unidentified member of  Iverson’s security team. He is seeking 750k.

There are  lessons to be learned from the beatdown scenario and for celebrities utilizing private security.  While the verdict in the Eyebar case did not make any new law, it drives home the fact that high profile athletes and celebrities should be extra careful in how these types of incidents are handled and instructions given to security.  If Allen had specific instructions and security procedures in place would this have happened?  If it did, Kane may very well have found himself outside the scope of his employment paying the entire verdict himself.  In all jurisdictions there is going to be some type of duty to supervise your bodyguards and other security employees when you venture out into the night.  This duty may even be heightened when the celeb walks into a nightclub environment ripe for an altercation.  Leave your security and posse to their own beatdown instincts at your peril.    For 260 grand Alan is probably wishing he got a few punches in himself.