DALLAS — The pro running back who was detained by a Dallas officer as his mother-in-law was dying said he feared for his wife's life during the ordeal.

"I was afraid for her because he was pointing a gun at her," Ryan Moats told ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" on Monday.

When Officer Robert Powell first pulled him over outside a Plano, Texas, hospital, "I didn't realize what was going on at the time," Moats said. "Once I got out, I realized it was pretty serious."

Despite Moats' pleas that he needed to get into the hospital because his wife's mother was dying of cancer, Powell detained him for 13 minutes, threatening him with arrest. The officer stopped Moats because his SUV rolled through a red light en route to the hospital.

The stop took place on March 17.

Moats lives in Frisco, Texas. He plays for the Houston Texans of the National Football League.

Moats, his wife Tamishia and two other family members were headed to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano when Powell pulled them over.

With his hazard lights on, Moats stopped at a red light near the hospital and then drove through it after the motorist with the right-of-way signaled for him to go ahead, he told police.

"I got there as safely as I could," he said in the television interview. "I wasn't reckless at all."

Powell, watching traffic from a hidden spot, turned on his lights and sirens, caught up with Moats' vehicle and followed it into a hospital parking lot, just outside the emergency room.

There, the police officer — who has since been placed on leave — detained Moats, threatening and berating him.

Moats' mother-in-law died before he could get in to see her.

"I understand about the red light, but I thought he'd have some kind of sympathy," Moats said.

Powell has publicly apologized through a lawyer. Moats said he accepts that apology.

"I hope it is sincere," he said.

Tamishia Moats said the family has not heard from Powell personally.

"It would be comforting to get an apology from him," she said. "We definitely would accept his apology."