Thursday, March 26, 2009

Kunkle on Powell, live blog

So far... 1. It seems the Plano PD officer who appeared in the tape is the one that ratted out Powell. He told his supervisor, who talked to someone at the DPD. 2. They've reviewed the tapes from the patrol car and are embarrassed. 3. The majority of the comments in various publications are the same Kunkle has had, he said. 4. "It's just extraordinarily disappointing," Kunkle said. 5. Legally, yes, he could've arrested Moats. But he shouldn't have threatened it. "I can't imagine a worse circumstance" than the one with Moats, Kunkle said. Police officers shouldn't arrest because someone made them mad, he added. 6. "I think someone whose never been through police training should know how to handle this," Kunkle said, adding that it falls under the heading of common sense. 7. Found the berating of Moats, the threats were embarrassing. The fact that hospital personnel tried to intervene and he disregarded that was also embarrassing. He may have also lied to the Plano officer about the genesis of the "pursuit." 8. Powell should've apologized for drawing down on the Moats family once he ascertained the situation, and then immediately holstered it. 9. However, Kunkle said you can't tell from the tape if he merely drew his gun, or if he pointed it at someone. He admits to drawing it. 10. There's been a recommendation made that the citation for running the red light be dropped. One of the assistant chiefs has called the Moats to apologize. 11. He likely faces administrative charges related to conduct that reflects poorly on the department, as well as something involving the threats, as well as the circumstances of the pursuits. 12. Any of those charges could lead to his dismissal. 13. Powell's record is fairly clean, with one complaint that was not sustained. 14. Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson said Powell thinks he was doing his job. "It seemed the compassion was not there," he said of Powell, "and I was hoping for a little more."