TheDailyBlitz.com

The story of Ryan Moats' delay at the hospital of his dying mother-in-law by Dallas PD officer Robert Powell is well-documented.

Powell has since issued an apology to the Moats' family. But it appears as though Powell's abuse of authority in the Moats' situation is not an isolated incident.

Maritza Thomas, wife of Cowboys free-agent LB Zach Thomas, had a run-in with Powell last year. She was charged with traffic violations (illegal U-turn, running a red light, improper address on a driver's license, etc.), handcuffed and spent three hours in a Dallas County jail.

"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," said Zach Thomas, who played for the Cowboys last season and is now a free agent. "But we wanted to tell our story, not knowing how many others have been affected by Officer Powell. We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."

I'm not a police officer nor an attorney, but to spend time in jail for those kind of traffic violations makes no sense to me. It doesn't make any sense to Brody Shanklin, Thomas' attorney, either.

"This situation never should've happened," said Maritza Thomas' attorney, Brody Shanklin. "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."

However, Judge C. Victor Lander says that Texas law allows an arrest to be made for any Class C misdemeanor traffic violation except speeding and having an open container. However, that those instances are "relatively rare" unless the person stopped has unpaid parking tickets.