I'm Watering My Neighbor's Flowers! Why Are You Arresting Me?

Alabama pastor was arrested after a call of him watering grass.

An Alabama pastor was arrested in May and the police finally release the body camera footage.  e Karens are back in action. A white person called the law on a pastor after seeing him watching watering flowers. 

In the town of Childersburg, Pastor Michael Jennings was at a neighbor's home watering flowers. A white person said that he was acting suspiciously. The police came and at first it started with a cordial call to a suspicious person and the police officer asked for identification.

Jennings did not have his ID on him and refused to give the officer that. He is certainly within his right to do so. It soon escalated to a situation where more officers showed up and then he was arrested for disorderly conduct and breach of peace.

Jennings, who is Black, is alleging that he was detained as a result of racial profiling. 

Police arrived on the scene after being alerted to a “suspicious individual” outside the Childersburg home. The exchange was captured on the unidentified officer’s body camera. While the arrest occurred in May, the footage is newly released. 

The charges were later dropped but he has filed a lawsuit against the Childersburg Police for discrimination due to the fact that the situation elevated when they threatened to arrest him when he told them multiple times, he was allowed to be there and he refused to be identified because he already offered his name.

Jennings, pastor of the Abundant Life Ministries in Sylacauga said he holds no ill will towards the person who called the law on him. He stressed that the police should have handled the situation better.

So the lawsuit is being filed in federal court.

After Jennings walked around to the other side of the house, saying more plants were needing to be watered, police handcuffed Jennings. Jennings requested to call his wife, which police did not allow him to do. After Jennings continued to argue with police, they placed him in the back of a patrol vehicle. 

Alabama pastor dealt with police abuse.

Later, police asked another neighbor to corroborate Jennings’ story. She identified Jennings’ house, and confirmed that he was friends with the people who lived in the home where Jennings was watering plants. 

While she couldn’t confirm that Jennings had express permission to be on the property, she said, “They went out of town today, so [Jennings] may be watering their flowers. That’d be completely normal.”

The neighbor, who was a white woman, disclosed to police that it was her who called the police after seeing Jennings in the yard, only later realizing who he was. She apologetically remarked, “This is probably my fault.” 

After Jennings was allowed back out of the patrol vehicle to have his handcuffs adjusted, Jennings told police, “Y’all racially profiled me.” After the officer denied having done so, Jennings retorted, “Yes, you did.” 

While Jennings waited in the patrol vehicle, the three officers, all of whom appear to be white, discussed Jennings’ refusal to offer his identification and expressed frustration that he accused them of racial profiling. They further discussed what to charge him with.