Charges against a pastor who watered the plants of his neighbor have been dropped a week after his arrest.
In Childersburg, Alabama, Police Chief Richard B. McClelland announced that following an investigation, he requested that all charges be dropped against Alabama Pastor Michael Jennings of the Vision of Abundant Life Ministries in Sylacauga. On May 22, the pastor had been arrested for obstructing government operations after watering a neighbor's flowers.
According to CBS 42, Childersburg Police were called to a residence on 5th Court Southwest over a report of a "suspicious gold SUV" with a man on another person's property on May 22. Upon arrival, police officers found Pastor Jennings watering his neighbor's flowers. When asked for an ID, the Alabama pastor failed to present one as he did not have any on him.
Alabama Pastor Possibly Racially Profiled by Police
Pastor Jennings, who is a Black man, said that the police officers asked him for an ID, to which he responded, "I don't have to give no ID because there ain't no crime been committed." He also introduced himself as a pastor who lived "right across the street" and asked them to verify his identity with his wife. As he continued the act of watering a neighbor's flowers while being questioned by authorities, a third officer was called to the scene.
Pastor Jennings described the third police officer as "already fired up" when he arrived. He told them that they were all "making a mistake" and it was "wrong" for them to be suspicious of him watering his neighbor's flowers. But according to the Alabama pastor, the sergeant "yelled back" saying, "Shut up and listen. You talk too much."
When Pastor Jennings confronted the sergeant and told him, "You don't tell me to shut up boy. I'm a grown man," he replied with "You going to jail, that's it. Lock him up." The Alabama pastor was then arrested and charged with obstructing government operations. Meanwhile, AL.com reported that the very same neighbor who called the police said she "made a mistake" and asked the officers not to arrest the pastor.
Also Read: Pastor Of Church That Held Worship Service Outdoors Following Shutdown Arrested By Police
Police Chief Launches Investigation Into Alabama Pastor
Police Chief McClelland said that he received the 911 call and the officer body camera footage and interviewed the officers who responded to the scene. Following his investigation, he recommended to the Municipal Judge of the City of Childersburg that "the warrant be dismissed with prejudice." The judge then dismissed the charge against the Alabama pastor.
Pastor Jennings is glad that the charges against him had been dropped, but remarked that "The thing is the thing it put me through was totally unnecessary and they had no case."
In 2021, the Alabama Senate passed a measure to ban racial profiling by law enforcement and order public safety agencies to collect information on traffic stops, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. However, the law is only specific to racial profiling on traffic stops and not other public spaces.
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