Pastor arrested while watering plants can now sue officers and city, judges rule
Michael Jennings, a black pastor who was arrested while watering his neighbor’s plants in Childersburg, Alabama, two years ago can now sue the officers involved in his arrest, along with the city of Childersburg, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously ruled Friday.
The ruling reverses a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Jennings, accusing Officers Christopher Smith and Justin Gable, as well as Sgt. Jeremy Brooks and the city of violating his constitutional rights which protect him from unlawful arrest and guarantees free speech, al.com reported.
A 20-minute body camera video of the May 2022 arrest of Jennings, who leads the Vision of Abundant Life Ministries in Sylacauga, shows him being confronted by the officers after he was reported by a white neighbor for watering the garden of a friend who was out of town at the time. Though Jennings identified himself as a pastor and told the officers he was caring for his neighbors' plants, and that he lived across the street, he was arrested without probable cause.
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"I'm supposed to be here. I'm Pastor Jennings. I live across the street," Jennings told the officers on the video as they interrogated him. “I'm looking out for their house while they're gone, watering their flowers."
Harry Daniels, one of three attorneys representing the pastor, said Jennings was arrested “less than five minutes after” the officers arrived on the scene.
“This is a win for Pastor Jennings and a win for justice,” Daniels said in a statement in response to Friday’s ruling. “The video speaks for itself. These officers decided they were going to arrest Pastor Jennings without probable cause less than five minutes after they pulled up and then tried to rewrite history claiming he hadn’t identified himself when that was the first thing he did.”
In their ruling, the judges noted that while Alabama law allows an officer to request the name, address, and explanation of a person in a public place if he “reasonably suspects” that person is committing or about to commit a crime, that officer does not have a legal right to demand physical identification.
Pastor Jennings filed a federal lawsuit against the officers and the city in September 2022, alleging he has been suffering from lingering anxiety and emotional distress since the arrest.
In an earlier interview with NPR, the pastor described how he felt during the encounter with the officers.
"When they first pulled up, I already knew that it was gonna be something," Jennings said.
He explained that the first thing he noticed when they arrived at his neighbors’ house was their behavior which indicated an assumption of his “guilt.”
"[The officer] parked around back and walked around front. And immediately, you could tell by the tone of his voice I was already guilty," he said.
Jennings was subsequently charged with obstructing government operations, according to a criminal complaint, but the charge was dismissed in court.
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