Before the charges were dropped, Michael Jennings was charged with obstructing government operations after police accused him of failing to respond to their request of providing identification
An Alabama pastor who was arrested while watering flowers for his out-of-town neighbors has filed a federal lawsuit against the officers, according to the court document.
On May 22, the Associated Press reported Childersburg Police officers responded to a 911 call for a suspicious person from a neighbor who didn’t recognize the pastor — at first.
When the first officer arrived, who’s white, he approached Pastor Michael Jennings, who’s Black. He asked Jennings what he was doing, according to the released body cam footage.
“I’m looking out for their house while they’re gone, watering their flowers,” said Jennings.
Police questioned Jennings and asked for his identification, which Jennings refused to provide. In his court filing, he states he identified himself and added he had not done anything suspicious.
At one point, officer Jeremy Brooks allegedly told Jennings that “they have a right to identify him, and he needed to listen to them and shut his mouth. Pastor Jennings told Defendant Brooks they need to listen, and he needs to shut his mouth and not to talk to him like he is a child,” according to the lawsuit.
The woman who initially called 911 appeared at the scene and allegedly said she didn’t recognize him when she made the call, but confirmed his identity, the lawsuit states.
Jennings’ wife also appeared at the scene and provided officers with identification.
Regardless, Jennings was charged with obstructing government operations after police accused him of failing to respond to their request of providing identification. The charges were dropped on June 1, reported NBC News.
On Friday, Jennings filed a lawsuit against Brooks, officers Christopher Smith and Justin Gable and the city of Childersburg. He is suing for damages, it states.
In his lawsuit, Jennings stated he suffers from “ongoing emotional distress, with significant PTSD type symptoms, including sadness, anxiety, stress, anger, depression, frustration, sleeplessness, nightmares and flashbacks from his unlawful arrest.”
On Saturday, a day after he filed his lawsuit with the Northern District of Alabama, he told reporters during a press conference that he felt like the officers assumed he was guilty.
“One thing I want to make crystal clear, I’m not anti-police. We need the police. Without the police, we’ll have full chaos. But there’s bad police, there’s good police,” Jennings said, per NBC News. “But what they did that day, they did with impunity, figuring there would be no action taken against them. I felt dehumanized.”
