Dallas police Officer Robert Powell resigned, a week after getting national notoriety for detaining an NFL player outside a hospital where his mother-in-law lay dying, reports the Dallas Morning News. He said, “I made this decision in the hope that my resignation will allow the Dallas Police Department, my fellow officers, and the citizens of Dallas to better reflect on this experience, learn from the mistakes made, and move forward.” The resignation won’t end the internal-affairs investigation into Powell’s actions.
The officer was accused of misconduct after stopping Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats for rolling through a red light while rushing his wife and her family to the hospital on March 17. Squad-car video shows Powell berating Moats during a 13-minute episode while his mother-in-law died. Now, other cases handled by Powell are being investigated. During one trial, a defense lawyer asked him how many people he had investigated for DWI. According to the lawyer, Powell said he had investigated 40 people and arrested all of them. He said that he arrested people for DWI if they had alcohol on their breath even if they passed sobriety tests.