Maritza Thomas

Maritza Thomas, wife of former Cowboys linebacker Zach Thomas, was arrested and spent three hours in jail in July of 2008, after being pulled over for making an illegal u-turn.

Thomas was pulled over by officer Robert Powell, who also pulled over Texans' running back Ryan Moats for running a red light. Moats was held for 13 minutes, unable to get to the hospital before his mother-in-law died. Thomas came forth with her story on March 29, 2009, in case others had also suffered similar encounters with the officer.ESPN: Thomas' wife detained by Moats' cop (March 29, 2009) Powell resigned from the Dallas Police Department on April 1, 2009.ESPN.com: Powell Resigns After Moats Incident

In July of 2008, Maritza Thomas was pulled over by Robert Powell for making an illegal u-turn and was subsequently handcuffed, arrested and taken to jail for three hours. In addition to the u-turn, Powell cited her on four additional counts, including running a red light, not having a registration sticker, failure to provide insurance and having an incorrect address on her driver's license. Although Thomas told Powell she had all the proper paperwork at her apartment located less than five minutes away, he still took her in.cbs4: Zach Thomas' Wife Claims Police Mistreatment (March 29, 2009)

Thomas did not plan on filing charges on the officer until news emerged about Ryan Moats. She decided to come forth on March 29, 2009, to let others know that officer Powell's behavior extended beyond what happened to Moats'. She hoped it would encourage others that had experienced similar encounters to come forward as well.ESPN: Thomas' wife detained by Moats' cop (March 29, 2009)

Four of Maritza Thomas's charges were eventually dropped by the Dallas police department. She received deferred adjudication on the u-turn charge.cbs4: Zach Thomas' Wife Claims Police Mistreatment (March 29, 2009)