Woman Arrested for Not Watering Lawn

[katty]

more: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=1444771

Woman Arrested for Not Watering Lawn
July 6th, 2007 @ 10:00pm

Sam Penrod Reporting

A widow and grandma spent the morning in jail, arrested for refusing to give a policeman her name when he tried writing her a ticket for failing to water her yard. The woman hasn't watered her lawn in more than a year, and the condition of her yard violates an Orem zoning ordinance.

Tonight, the woman says she is traumatized and shocked that she was hauled to jail, just because she says she can't afford to water her lawn.

Betty Perry says, "I never thought they would ever do anything like that to a person that is 70 years old. I've never bothered anybody, I've never hurt anybody."

[deadmessengers]

1. Uhm, there' s a contradiction here:

In the subject: "Woman Arrested for Not Watering Lawn"
In the body: "arrested for refusing to give a policeman her name"

That's just inexcusably sloppy proofreading.

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. Send her to jail.

[MADem]

7. If you read the whole story, it was a bad arrest all round, and the cop, who's on admin leave now,

was a fucking IDIOT. The actual charges were 'resisting the ticket' in addition to refusing to give her name.

He manhandled the woman and contributed to her injuries by so doing. He started writing her a ticket (not even knowing if she was the homeowner; how could he, if he didn't know her name?) and when she tried to leave, he grabbed her, she tripped, and bled enough to leave blood all over her porch:

"I didn't want to tell him anything until I talked to a lawyer or my son. I wanted to see what he'd tell me to do. I've never had any experience before with the law, ever in my life," she said.

As the enforcement officer started writing her a ticket, she tried going back in her house. That's when the officer tried to handcuff her for refusing to give her name and resisting the ticket. She tripped on the steps, scraping up her nose and elbows, leaving blood on her door, her porch and her clothes. Perry was handcuffed, fingerprinted and put in a jail cell, where she sat for more than an hour.

[katty]

10. yes, so unecessary and plain wrong to arrest this woman

[TankLV]

14. Yet Libby has it HARD and is PERSECUTED apparently...

[deadmessengers]

11. I did read the story, and you're missing my point

My point wasn't about whether the cop was an authoritarian fucknut. (He is.) My point is that the HEADLINE was wrong. Look, the old lady got arrested for resisting arrest (when you refuse to identify yourself to a police officer, that's what they'll usually charge you with). She would have just gotten a ticket for not watering her lawn, and from my reading, that's what would have happened. The bottom line: the headline was wrong, and was contradicted by the text in the body of the article, and any editor worth a shit should have caught that.

[MADem]

12. No, not resisting arrest. "Resisting the TICKET and refusing to identify herself."

Resisting the ticket to me, means refusing to take the lawn watering violation ticket--that was the charge, even if the guy didn't yet put the paper in her hand. She tried to leave, he grabbed her, she fell, she bled, and that's where it all went to shit.

She didn't resist arrest. She just tried to leave while he was ticketing "the homeowner"--but see, he didn't know for sure if it was her house--he knew she came out of it, but that's about it (she could have been a visitor, the maid, the nanny, anyone)--he knocked her down and made her bleed.

The headline is kind of lousy, but the ticket she resisted was for a lawn watering violation. There's no "resisting arrest" in the article.

[katty]

13. understood, however

I still think that if he had to (and yes, I realize not giving your name, in most cases results in arrest)arrest, they could have given her a ticket at the Police Station and then released her, on the grounds of her age (at least).

[ewoden]

3. We have to water them here or they will dry out there or er . . .

um . . .well . . . it's the terrarists. They seek weak lawns in which to sew the seeds of Islamic fundamentalism. Yeah that's it!

[TygrBright]

4. sheeeeeesh... Around here, they turn ya in for WATERING! n/t

[Lisa]

15. no kidding -- once the water rationing kicks in during the summer dry season ...

... anybody caught sprinkling on the wrong day (odd instead of even, for example) -- or using one of those forbidden nozzles without the automatic shut-off -- had better watch out. There's a retired guy on our street who has appointed himself the enforcer, and snoops on everyone!

[MADem]

5. It's shit like this that gives fodder to the GOP--the "nanny government"

They'll leap all over this crap as an "example" of overregulation.

And of course, the woman is right. Grass is STUPID. I hope some nice garden center volunteers to give her a grass-free, easy maintenance landscaping. The cop was an asshole (how did he know she was the homeowner--why he didn't!! She could have been the housekeeper!), the city is stupid, the ordnance is bullshit. If they want yards watered, they can fucking budget for it and pay for it themselves. I think she should sue their asses off--with the money she makes, she can afford to pay that water bill. Bastards!!!

..."I didn't want to tell him anything until I talked to a lawyer or my son. I wanted to see what he'd tell me to do. I've never had any experience before with the law, ever in my life," she said.

As the enforcement officer started writing her a ticket, she tried going back in her house. That's when the officer tried to handcuff her for refusing to give her name and resisting the ticket. She tripped on the steps, scraping up her nose and elbows, leaving blood on her door, her porch and her clothes. Perry was handcuffed, fingerprinted and put in a jail cell, where she sat for more than an hour.

"I laid down in there. I never seen the inside of a jail before. I didn't know how it looked, I was really scared," she says.

When police brass learned what happened, she was immediately released....After being arrested, Perry is now scared of the police. She says, "Don't ever say no when the police tell you do to something. You better do what they tell you no matter what, even if you don't have anybody to help you. You've got to do what they tell you or they will hurt you."

The officer was sent home for the day and placed on paid administrative leave. Police are not pressing any charges against Betty Perry for either neglecting her yard or resisting the ticket.

[Shallah Kali]

16. want to bet that grass-free yards are banned as well?

heaven forbid someone can't afford to water a near-desert or grow something practical like a veggie garden.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Rip out the damned grass. It's in Utah, for heavens' sake. If god had wanted there to be pretty

green grass, then he'd provide the rain.

[MasonJar]

8. Where is this place, which demands a yard be watered? One thing about

grass; it always grows back. What an idiotic law! She indicated that she could not afford to water the lawn. Maybe her medicines cost an arm and a leg, like most people's. Is this some kind of pseudo-Utopia, where the police have nothing to do but arrest people for not watering their yard?

[sinkingfeeling]

9. It's in the middle of a high desert! Only by artifically watering can anybody maintain grass.

[NJCher]

17. people are regularly prosecuted over grass violations

In the book Redesigning the American Lawn, F. Herbert Bohrman and Diana Balmori tell about a woman in Michigan who was arrested for not mowing her lawn. She wanted to grow wildflowers in her lawn, if I remember correctly. Then they go into many other cases. It becomes apparent from their research that lawn arrests are not at all uncommon. You VILL grow a lawn and you you VILL fertilize, water, and mow it!

In my town--and I am in deep suburbia--the town keeps a tight watch for lawn infractions. One time my husband piled up some sticks and branches from trees and the next day we had a town inspector telling us we had to get the branches tied up and put out at the curb. Can you believe this? Then when he came back to check to see if we'd done it, my husband answered the door and announced to me, "It's the Stick Police." I burst out laughing in the inspector's face.

Betcha' anything, though, that a neighbor complained. That's usually the way these things happen. It's odd to send a police officer as most towns have inspectors that deal with this.



Cher

[rabies1]

18. Maybe the cop lives on a golfcourse.

[Desperadoe]

19. Mayor Apologizes; Owner of Brown Lawn Wants to Move

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=1461736






"There has been a tremendous outpouring of concern regarding the arrest of an Orem citizen, Betty Perry, where press reports indicated she was arrested for failure to cooperate with an Orem Police Officer issuing a citation related to her lawn watering and yard maintenance. She was handcuffed and taken to jail. We, like you, were shocked and dismayed upon learning of this incident. This is not reflective of our community or our Public Safety Department procedures. It is an isolated incident.

We have been to visit Mrs. Betty Perry and have apologized to her for what happened and for all the discomfort and embarrassment it has caused. We will be assisting with some of her yard problems, including immediate fire hazard weed abatement.

Steps have been taken to rectify the situation. We have requested an independent investigation of this incident by the Utah State Department of Public Safety, which is currently underway, following which a thorough review and determination will be made as to appropriate action, including personnel, departmental and ordinance.

Again we apologize for this incident, first to Mrs. Perry, and then to all others who have been alarmed and incensed by it. Please know that we will deal with it directly and thoroughly.

Sincerely,

Orem City Mayor, City Council