Monday, October 07, 2024 - 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.
Qualified immunity protects officers from civil liability
while performing their duties as long as their actions don't violate clearly
established law or constitutional rights which they should have known about.
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.
The responding officers said they arrested Jennings because
he refused to provide a physical ID. Body camera footage shows that the man
repeatedly told officers he was “Pastor Jennings” and that he lived across the
street.
Attorneys for Jennings argued that the footage shows that
the officers decided to arrest Jennings without probable cause “less than five
minutes after” they arrived.
“This is a win for Pastor Jennings and a win for justice.
The video speaks for itself,” said Harry Daniels, the lead attorney for
Jennings. “Finally, Pastor Jennings will have his day in court and prove that
wearing a badge does not give you the right to break the law.”
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.
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