A Black pastor who was arrested while watering flowers for his out-of-town white neighbor can finally sue the Alabama police after a federal appeals court reversed an earlier decision barring him from moving forward with a lawsuit.
Two years ago, Pastor Michael Jennings was simply doing a favor for his neighbor, who had asked him to water their flowers while they were gone. But his good deed didn't sit well with another neighbor, who saw a Black man on her street and blew a fuse. She immediately called the police for "help."
When police arrived, they asked what Jennings was doing there, even though it was obvious by the wet hose in his hand that he was sprinkling a garden. The police then asked to see his ID, and when Jennings explained that he was a pastor who lived across the street, but refused to show them ID, they arrested him. (See body cam video of the arrest below, posted by Inside edition.)
Calling the arrest "dehumanizing," Jennings then tried to sue the officers for violating his constitutional rights (police have no legal rights to demand physical proof of ID in the state of Alabama). But in December, a district judge threw out his case against the police, claiming the cops were protected by qualified immunity. On Friday, however, a federal appeals court reversed the lower court's decision.
The police officers who arrested a Black pastor while he watered his neighbor's plants can be sued, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, reversing a lower court judge's decision to dismiss the pastor's lawsuit.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the three officers who arrested Michael Jennings in Childersburg, Alabama, lacked probable cause for the arrest and are therefore not shielded by qualified immunity. …
"This is a win for Pastor Jennings and a win for justice. The video speaks for itself," said Harry Daniels, the lead attorney for Jennings. "Finally, Pastor Jennings will have his day in court and prove that wearing a badge does not give you the right to break the law."
Previously: Two racist cops who tortured black men jailed for 20 and 17 1/2 years. Four more are yet to be sentenced.
