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Race, class and misconduct at a Dallas traffic stop

Having been focused on what's happening in Austin under the pink dome, I'd not found time to comment on the case of NFL player Ryan Moats , who was stopped by police while rushing his family to the hospital in Dallas to be with his wife's mother who they'd been told was near death. The whole exchange was caught on the officer's dashcam video and it's generous to say the officer comes off as a bully and a jerk, while Moats was the definition of class and poise, particularly under the circumstances. Moats' mother-in-law died while the officer detained them.Unfortunately, this being Dallas, local media and activists feel compelled turn the issue into a racial conflict because the officer, Robert Powell, is white and Moats is black. James Ragland, a columnist for the Dallas News, offered up a column titled "Racial dynamics can't be ignored in Ryan Moats traffic stop" (March 27)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 28, 2009 (boomark / email).