Pastor Michael Jennings was approached by police while he was watering his neighbor's flowers because they were out of town. When he refused to show his ID, he was arrested. He plans to file a lawsuit against the police department.
A Black preacher says it was “surreal” and “dehumanizing” when he was arrested while watering his neighbor's flowers because they were out of town.
Pastor Michael Jennings was tending to his friend's front yard in Childersburg, Alabama, when police showed up and began questioning him about what he was doing. The officer told Jennings someone had called 911 to report a suspicious person.
“They're saying that this vehicle is not supposed to be here, and you're not supposed to be here,” the officer said.
“Who is saying that?” Jennings asked.
“They called about it. I don't know who called,” the officer said.
“I'm supposed to be here. I'm Pastor Jennings. I live across the street,” Jennings said.
But when asked to provide ID, Jennings refused.
“I'm not going to give you no ID. I ain't do nothing wrong,” Jennings said.
The pastor was clearly upset.
“You have no right to approach me if I did nothing suspicious or nothing wrong. Lock me up and see what happens. I want you to,” Jennings said.
He eventually walked away, and that’s when the handcuffs came out.
“Just calm down. We just want to talk to you,” an officer said.
Then, the woman who called 911 showed up.
“Does he have permission here to be watering flowers?” an officer asked her.
“He may be, because they are friends and they went out of town today,” the woman responded.
She admitted she made a big mistake.
“He lives right there, and he would be watering their flowers. This is probably my fault,” the woman said.
The pastor's wife appeared and showed the cops his ID, but they told her it was too late.
“I was horrified,” Phyllis Jennings told Inside Edition.
Michael Jennings says he believes he was racially profiled by the officers.
“I told them who I was. I told them that I live across the street,” Jennings said.
Jennings has hired a lawyer and is expected to file a lawsuit against the police department. The charges against him were dropped.
