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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