Pastor Michael Jennings was arrested for providing a simple neighborly service of watering plants.
Jennings, the pastor of Vision of Abundant Life Church in Alabama, was arrested for watering his neighbor’s flowers, which he was asked to do while they were out of town. While Jennings was watering the flowers, an officer showed up, arrested him, and charged him with obstructing government operations.
In body camera footage obtained by NPR, Pastor Jennings revealed who he was, what he was doing, and his own address.
“I’m supposed to be here. I’m Pastor Jennings. I live across the street,” Jennings said. “I’m looking out for their house while they’re gone, watering their flowers.”
Pastor Jennings is seeking legal action, and his attorney believes the video will help in their case against the officers.
Pastor Jennings was approached by officers, and he made it clear that he was “watering flowers.” The officer claimed to have responded to a call of a “suspicious vehicle,” which belonged to the neighbor, and a suspicious person that shouldn’t be in the yard.
The woman who called the police noticed Pastor Jennings, came out, and attempted to rectify the issue, only to still be arrested and charged.
In court, Jennings’s attorneys are not only combatting the arrest but the idea that he broke a law because he was on private property.
