The police officers who arrested a black pastor while he watered his neighbour's flowers can be sued, a federal appeals court has ruled, reversing a lower court judge's decision which had dismissed 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, in May 2022 lacked probable cause for the arrest and are therefore not shielded by qualified immunity.
Jennings was arrested after a white neighbour reported him to the police as he was watering his friend's garden while they were out of town. In December, Chief District Judge R. David Proctor dismissed the case against the officers on the basis of qualified immunity. Alabama law states officers have a right to request the name, address, and explanation of a person in a public place if he “reasonably suspects” that person is committing or about to commit a crime, but an officer does not have a legal right to demand physical identification, the 11th circuit court decision said. Jennings was arrested on a charge of obstructing government operations. Those charges were dismissed within days at the request of the police chief. The pastor then filed a lawsuit a few months later, saying the ordeal violated his constitutional rights and caused lingering problems including emotional distress and anxiety. Daniels, the lead attorney for Jennings, said that the decision could affect other ongoing civil rights cases across the state. “This has major implications for anyone who has been subjected to unlawful arrest because they wouldn't give their ID,” said Daniels.
