DALLAS, March 29 (UPI) -- The former wife of NFL linebacker Zach Thomas says she once was mistreated by Dallas police officer Robert Powell after making an illegal U-turn.
Maritza Thomas told a Dallas newspaper that during a traffic stop last July she was handcuffed and spent about 3 hours in jail.
"This in no way compares to what happened to Ryan Moats and his family," she told The Dallas Morning News. "We know the vast majority of the Dallas police force are good and professional people, but this guy just seems excessive."
Reports surfaced last week that Powell stopped Moats, a Houston Texans running back, for running a red light near a hospital in Plano while he was driving his wife to see her mother on her death bed. Jonetta Collinsworth, 45, a breast cancer patient, died before Moats got to her room.
Powell since has been placed on administrative leave by Dallas Police Chief David Kunkel.
