Pastor Michael Jennings was watering the plants of his neighbor, who had left town, when he was approached by police in Childersburg, Alabama, in May 2022. A woman had reported a suspect on the property.
Although Jennings explained that he had permission to be in the garden because his neighbor had asked him to take care of the flowers, the officers demanded identification.
When the pastor refused to give them a badge, he was arrested.
The arrest continued even when officers contacted the woman who reported the suspect, who admitted that she did not know it was Jennings and she retracted the report by identifying him.
The case again illustrates the racial bias that operates in US police corporations.
Now Jennings has decided to sue the police department, revealing the videos from the cameras of the officers who participated in the arrest.
The pastor's attorneys argue that his client was not required to identify herself under Alabama law because he was not in a public place.
The charges against him, for obstruction of government operations, were dropped shortly after the incident.