“My mother-in-law is dying. Right now!”

As a storm of outrage gathered over his department, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle called a news conference Thursday to apologize for the behavior of an officer who detained a distressed family outside a hospital emergency room.

Kunkle said Officer Robert Powell had been placed on paid administrative leave in connection with the incident last week, in which he stopped a family rushing to visit a dying mother, keeping them for 13 minutes to write a traffic ticket. The woman died before two of the family members were able to see her.

“I am embarrassed and disappointed by the behavior of one of our police officers,” the chief told a packed audience of media outlets that included Inside Edition. “His behavior, in my opinion, did not exhibit the common sense, discretion, the compassion that we expect our officers to exhibit.”

During the traffic stop, caught on the officer’s in-car camera, Powell berated the driver, 26-year-old NFL running back Ryan Moats, and threatened him with arrest for running a traffic light.

After seeing the video earlier this week, several senior police commanders knew they had a public relations crisis on their hands. A Plano police officer who was present at the March 17 incident had reported it to a superior, who had reported it to a Dallas police supervisor.

After news of the video broke late Wednesday, irate calls and e-mails started spilling into police headquarters.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, at the department’s weekly crime meeting, many members of the command staff viewed the video for the first time. The reaction was one of disbelief and head shaking, said several who were present.

“People were just quiet,” said Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson, who oversees the city’s seven patrol stations. “Just, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe what I just saw.’ ”

Kunkle took the podium hours later in front of a dozen news cameras. At one point, he seemed to restrain himself from being too candid with his views on the incident.

“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.”

The chief also praised Moats and his family for how they handled the officer’s behavior.

“They exercised extraordinary patience, restraint, dealing with the behavior of our officer,” Kunkle said. “At no time did Mr. Moats identify himself as an NFL football player or expect any kind of special consideration. He handled himself very, very well.”

The video shows what happened after Moats, who plays for the Houston Texans, rolled through a red light in Dallas en route to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. Powell switched on his lights and sirens, caught up to the family’s SUV, and followed for about 20 seconds as they found a parking spot near the hospital’s emergency entrance.

Moats’ mother-in-law, 45-year-old Jonetta Collinsworth, had been struggling with breast cancer. That night family members received word that they needed to hurry to the hospital because she was dying.

“You really want to go through this right now?” Moats pleaded to Powell. “My mother-in-law is dying. Right now!”

An argument followed, during which Powell lectured Moats and threatened him with arrest.

Kunkle acknowledged Thursday that Powell also drew his gun at the start of the incident.

“I understand that he admits to drawing his gun but not pointing it,” the chief said.

Moats’ wife, Tamishia Moats, has said otherwise.

“He was pointing a gun at me as soon as I got out of the car,” she said. The video shows her pleading with him a moment, then ignoring him and walking into the hospital with her great-aunt.

Kunkle said that for Powell to draw his gun at first may be defensible. The SUV had not immediately stopped for him. People were piling out of it. The situation was uncertain.

“But as quickly as possible, he should have holstered his gun and apologized, once he found out what the circumstances were,” Kunkle said, “and then tried to accommodate the Moatses the best he could getting access into the hospital.”

Instead, Powell spent long minutes exercising his authority over Ryan Moats, whose grandfather-in-law – the father of the dying woman – stayed behind with him out of concern for his safety, the family has said.

Powell, 25, has not returned calls. He has defended his actions to department officials.

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

As the video reached a national audience Thursday, featured among other places on the home page of Yahoo.com, it became clear that many people disagreed. Thousands of comments poured onto The Dallas Morning News’ Web site, most of them singling out Powell for derision.

“The majority of the comments reflect my position,” said Kunkle, “that at the point the officer was told that they were responding to a dying family member, that should have been his concern: to allow those people to get access to that family member.”

Police officials have contacted the Moats family to apologize, asked that the ticket be dismissed, and posted a statement of remorse on the department’s Web page.

Asked at Thursday’s news conference what officers are trained to do in such a situation, Kunkle said even someone with no police training should have known better than to do what Powell did.

“I don’t know how you train for these circumstances, other than to hire people with common sense and good people skills,” he said.

Department officials say the now-infamous video will likely make its way into the police academy’s training curriculum.

Kunkle said the internal investigation against Powell will focus on conduct reflecting poorly on the department, as well as making unwarranted threats of arrest.

Powell also faces investigation for comments he made to another officer after the incident ended – while the video camera was still rolling. He said he “worded” a report in such a way as to justify a January police chase.

“It appears, what he said, to have been contrary to our pursuit policy,” Kunkle said, “to where he may have lied about the circumstances under which the pursuit began.”

The chief said any one of the charges could lead to dismissal.

stevethompson@dallasnews.com; teiserer@dallasnews.com

Excerpts from Officer Robert Powell and Ryan Moats:

 

Moats: You really want to go through this right now? My mother-in-law is dying. Right now! … I got seconds before she’s dying, man!

Powell: If my mom was dying I’d probably be a little upset too, but when I saw flashing red and blues, I would stop.

Moats: Did I not stop at the red light?

Powell: You stopped, then you drove through the red light.

Moats: I stopped, I checked the traffic, I waved the traffic off, then I turned.

Powell: This is not an emergency vehicle. You do not have the right to control the traffic.

Moats: OK. All right … just go ahead and check my insurance so I can go ahead and go. If you’re gonna give me a ticket, give me a ticket. I really don’t care, just …

Powell: Your attitude says that you need one.

Moats: I don’t have an attitude. All I’m asking you is just to hurry up. Cause you’re standing here talking to me…

Powell: Shut your mouth and listen.

Moats: Shut my mouth? Is that how you talk to me, too?

Powell: Shut your mouth and listen. If you want to keep this going, I’ll just put you in handcuffs, and I’ll take you to jail for running a red light.

Moats: OK. All right.

Powell: I can do that.

Moats: OK.

Powell: State law says I can.

Moats: Yes, sir. Go ahead.

Powell: If you don’t settle down that’s what I’m gonna do.

Moats: Yes, sir.

Powell: All right, If you don’t settle down, your truck’s illegally parked – I’ll tow that as well.

Moats: Yes, sir.

Powell: OK, I can screw you over. I’d rather not do that. Your attitude will dictate everything that happens, and right now, your attitude sucks.

Moats: Yes, sir.

Powell: OK, I turned my red and blues on as you were going over the bridge …

Moats: You think I’m gonna stop when my wife’s mother is dying?

Powell: You are required to stop. What you’re doing does not matter. Red and blues, you have to stop. I can charge you with fleeing right now.

Moats: Yes, sir. …

Powell: I can take you to jail. I can tow your truck. I can charge you with fleeing.

Moats: Yes, sir, you can. I understand.

Powell: I can make your night very difficult.

Moats: I hope you’ll be a great person and not do that.

- STEVE THOMPSON and TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

TI: A Year and a Day

Federal weapons charges, with their accompanying harsh sentences, are enough to take down anyone.

Yet since his guilty plea a year ago, Atlanta rapper T.I. has enjoyed the greatest success of his career.

But one of the world’s best-known rap artists is due to take a one-year hiatus at a federal detention facility.

According to the plea agreement, T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., will be sentenced today to one year and a day.

The extra day means T.I. can carve 15 percent off his sentence with good behavior. Under U.S. Bureau of Prison rules, inmates can earn such credit only if they are sentenced to longer than a year in prison. T.I. should serve an estimated 298 days —- or a little less than 10 months. He is expected to get credit for the two weeks he sat in jail after his arrest and before posting a $3 million bond.

T.I.’s troubles began Oct. 13, 2007, just hours before he was to receive two awards at the BET Hip-Hop Awards ceremony in Atlanta. He was arrested in a Midtown parking lot by federal agents for trying to buy machine guns and silencers. T.I. pleaded guilty to illegal firearms possession and being a convicted felon with a firearm.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommended T.I. serve at least four years and nine months behind bars.

But T.I.’s defense team worked out an unheard of deal with federal prosecutors: If T.I. would perform at least 1,000 hours of community service, telling kids about the pitfalls of crime, drugs and gangs and encouraging them to respect the law, he could surrender to the Bureau of Prisons a year later and get a reduced sentence.

Area criminal defense lawyers howled in protest, saying T.I. traded his celebrity for leniency. Federal prosecutors countered the rapper’s influential message would help prevent crime.

T.I. has fulfilled his part of the bargain, said Steve Sadow, one of the rapper’s lawyers.

“T.I. took this opportunity and ran with it beyond anyone’s expectations.”

A sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday by T.I.’s defense team says the rapper has complied with all the requirements of his plea agreement. This includes serving 300 days of home confinement, attending more than 260 events and earning 1,006 hours of community service credit.

- Richard L. Eldredge, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Julie Dexter to perform in Birmingham

Mindz Open Promotions presents Acoustic Soul with Julie Dexter and Brandon Thomas on April 22, 2009 at Java & Jamz.

Born and raised in Birmingham, England of Jamaican parents, Julie Dexter is a world-renowned singer / songwriter who has won numerous international awards. A classically trained musician who writes, arranges, composes and produces, Julie is considered by many to be one of the most important female vocalists of her generation. Deeply influenced by legends such as Abbey Lincoln, Nancy Wilson and Bob Marley, as well as popular icons such as Omar and Sade, Julie takes classic soul to the heart of artistry.

Keep your browsers pointed to Urbanham.com for the Julie Dexter interview from DJ Rahdu.

For more information on Julie Dexter visit http://www.juliedexter.com

PJ Morton LIVE April 5th @ WorkPlay

It’s been a while since we have witnessed a PJ Morton performance in Birmingham.   The talented singer, producer and song writer has been busy but plans to return to the Magic City on April 5, 2009.

2008 was a pretty busy year for PJ and it looks like 2009 will pick up where ‘08 left off.  PJ has been writing and producing for artist across the globe, so you can expect to hear his music on several big name music projects.

In January, PJ won a Stellar Award for “Song of the Year” for “Let Go, Let God (Dewayne Woods)”. In May, a special edition of a collection of his songs simply called “PJ Morton” was released exclusively in Japan.

PJ’s next project, “Son of a Preacher Man” is scheduled to be released sometime this year.

You can catch PJ performing LIVE on April 5, 2009 at Worklay. Also featuring the soul music of Brittin and Birmingham’s #1 Soul Brother DJ Rahdu on the 1s & 2s. For tickets visit www.workplay.com.  Hosted by Tasha Simone.

For more on PJ Morton visit www.pjmortononline.com or www.myspace.com/pjmorton.

A Sitdown with Birmingham’s own… Tommie Lee

Artist: Tommie Lee
Record Label: J.R. Records

Urbanham: What is your place of residence?
Tommie Lee: Birmingham, AL.

Urbanham: How long have you been creating music?
Tommie Lee: Since 2001

Urbanham: How would you describe your sound?
Tommie Lee: 1 of a kind

Song: Take

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Song: Chronic

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Urbanham: Name of your upcoming / current album and where can we get a copy?
Tommie Lee: My current album is Forever Yours and you can email dafurnace.jrrecords@yahoo.com to order an album.

Urbanham: What was the inspiration for your single(s) you released on your current album?
Tommie Lee: Take a vacation is the single off the album. During the making of the album I was kind of stressed out so I was consistently saying I needed to take a vacation. The song is basically saying to step out of reality where ever you are to escape from your woman / man, kids, job, or just anything that keeps you down in your life. My music is made to take you away in your mind and make you explore all possibilities.

Urbanham: What artists have inspired you?
Tommie Lee: I like all kinds of music from hip hop to rap & from R&B to alternative. I’m and artist so I let them all influence me.

Urbanham: What message / feel do you want your fans / critics to walk away with after hearing your music?
Tommie Lee: I try to put out a positive message for people especially males to see what I have been through so they will not make the same mistake I made. I want to show the music industry that Birmingham has at lot of talent to offer. We are the best kept secret of the South, so to the critics you don’t have to love what we bring but the history of Alabama brings out more pain of the constant movement that we all are still involved in.

Urbanham: What effect do you feel your city has on your music?
Tommie Lee: It’s what I see everyday.I feel that because I’m from Birmingham I have a strive harder than the next artist that may be from a bigger city that may be more involved in the entertainment industry.

Urbanham: How do you feel about the current state of Hip Hop?
Tommie Lee: It’s constantly going through changes.Right now the current artist are putting out music people want to dance to and a few years ago it was mainly the hard rappers stating their claim on the industry. I feel like we all have a gift for what we do. I do me and that’s what people will hear.

Urbanham: Do you feel the music Industry cripples creativity?
Tommie Lee: I would have to say yes. You have a lot of times were music executives control what they put out, who makes the beats,and what they will talk about. I want to keep my creative edge and make music that people feel.

Urbanham: When you’re not in the studio, what do you do to have fun?
Tommie Lee: I’m straight from the south I like hanging with my family & friends.

Urbanham: On a Sat night in Birmingham we would find you
Tommie Lee: at the club or wing spot

Urbanham: What can we expect from you in the future?
Tommie Lee: I’m working on my next album Forever Yours: Volume II

April 10 is the last day United Way will offer FREE Online Tax Preparation

Free Online Tax Preparation at the Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church on Friday, March 6, 2009 and Friday, March 13, 2009.

In an effort to develop a scalable tax filing infrastructure and distribution network, United Way of America is partnering with global nonprofit One Economy to empower eligible individuals to file their own taxes for free and properly claim the Earned Income Tax Credit. One Economy and United Way of America are working together to offer a Mobile Tax Preparation service in 20 communities throughout tax season.

This effort is focused specifically on first-time filers but anyone that meets the requirements and earns less than $56,000 per year may file.  The strategies used to target these filers will vary by community, but the goal is to find at least 100 clients who are willing to file their own taxes. Often times “fear” of the IRS, the perceived complexity of a tax return, limited access to technology at home or school, or other factors may prevent them from filing their own taxes and instead, utilizing the services of a for-profit tax preparer.

Ideal clients for this initiative meet these criteria:

* Adjusted Gross Income of less than $56,000
* Email Address and familiarity with a computer (fluency not required)
* Middle school reading comprehension
* Valid Social Security Number or ITIN

One Economy’s self-help website, the Beehive (www.thebeehive.org), offers a Tax Tool that facilitates self-preparation and filing of federal and state income taxes. Volunteers trained as “Tax Coaches” will be on hand to help filers.

Location: Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church
2135 Jefferson Avenue - Birmingham, Alabama 35211
Behind Arrington Middle School

Date: Friday, April 10, 2009

Time: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

For more information or directions call (205) 925-5972.

Art Beats + Lyrics Coming To Birmingham!

Over the past 10 years we have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of promoters and event planners at Urbanham.com. While Birmingham’s entertainment scene continues to grow and more clubs pop up to serve the need I have to say it is  rare that patrons get something that is truly unique among the typical social circles. Don’t get me wrong.  I think all of the events, big and small, are important to Birmingham’s urban social scene but after you strip away the catchy theme the events all seem to be same.  Professional nights, fashion shows, young and sexy, fabulous and fine, concert after parties all seem to follow this recycled pattern or template if you will.  This is pretty much the norm in our great city when it comes to night life which is fine for the most part but something truly different and creative is always welcomed to bring a refreshing change and renew the excitement among social circles.  Art Beats + Lyrics is an event to get excited about.  The mix of urban art and hip hop rolled into a multimedia presentation and served in an urban setting with a party like atmosphere spells excitement in my opinion.  Now throw in the spirit of Jack Daniel’s as a sponsor and the catchy phrase “Escape the Mainsteam” and you have a social setting that is long over due.

Junior Star from Bama Love Soul caught up with the founder of Art Beat + Lyrics, Jabari Graham as Birmingham prepares for this exciting showcase of art, beats and lyrics.

Russ McClinton

Read more

The Snowy South

Northern Alabama gets its snow and a highly uncommon Winter Storm.  Weather forecasters were predicting it for most of the week and early this Sunday morning many people woke up to several inches of snow in Alabama! The local news reports that it has been over 3,000 days since Alabama has had measurable show.  Some areas of Northern Alabama report close to 6 inches of snow.

We got up this morning and took a few pictures around our house before the snow really begin to fall.

Send us your snow pictures to pix@urbanham.com