African-American pastor arrested for watering neighbor’s flowers

The 56-year-old man of faith plans to file a complaint and denounces “racial profiling” by the police.

The line-up was highly controversial across the Atlantic. On May 22 in Childersburg, Alabama, local church African-American pastor Michael Jennings Vision of abundant life, He was arrested by the local police. Is he the only one at fault? Watering the flowers of his neighbors who hired him for this prickly task on holidays in the mountains in the north of the country.

“Ethnic Profiling”

Images of the arrests were captured on cameras taken by the police in recent hours Broadcast by American media NPR. Two police officers can be seen intervening near a house in this residential area. “What are you doing here, man?” One of them asks a faithful man busy with his work. “I water the flowers,” replies the 56-year-old, who identifies himself as “Pastor Jennings,” who lives across the street.

The situation escalates a bit when the authorities ask the pastor to produce his identity documents. The latter refused, replied that he had done nothing wrong and accused the police of “racial profiling”.

“You have no right to approach me, I have done nothing wrong, if you want to lock me up, lock me up, I will keep watering these flowers”, he continues.

According to The New York Times, under state law, police officers have the power to arrest a person in a public place and demand identification if they suspect a crime or other public offense has been committed. In which action, the priest was handcuffed and taken to the station, accused of “obstructing government proceedings”. The charge, which was dropped by Childersburg police a few days later, was not prohibited by Alabama law from watering flowers.

File a complaint

According to US media, the police actually intervened following a call from a neighbor concerned by movements around the house. At the end of the same video, we finally see a woman named Amanda who intervenes with the police. “It’s completely normal, they’re friends,” she finally told police, after initially saying she called police because she thought she saw “a teenage girl” strolling by.

However, Pastor Jennings doesn’t want to stop there and plans to file a complaint for unlawful arrest with the support of his attorney, Mee Harry Daniels.

“This is a case of police abuse, police intimidation and race,” he told the New York Times.

Childersburg Police Chief Kevin Goes declined to comment when asked by the same media. Still scarred by his arrest, Pastor Jennings assures him that he is “not anti-police.” “We want our police. We want good police,” he insists.