Bloodied 70-year old woman handcuffed for having brown lawn....

[formerrepuke]

OREM, Utah (AP) -- A 70-year-old woman arrested in a dispute over her brown lawn pleaded not guilty Tuesday, then stood by as a Los Angeles lawyer waved handcuffs for the cameras outside court.

Betty Perry is charged with resisting arrest and failing to maintain her landscaping, both misdemeanors. She was arrested July 6 after failing to give her name to a police officer who visited her home. During a struggle, Perry fell and injured her nose. She spent more than an hour in a holding cell before police released her.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/19/lawn.dispute.ap/index.html
...Hmmm- a brown lawn means you've allowed the grass to become dormant..and not WASTING precious fresh water just to keep the lawn green. Gloria Allred rocks.

[OzarkDem]

1. I suppose

we will see lots of people here claiming she deserved it. Good Germans all.

Keep in mind police departments have been receiving new funding from Homeland Security. With that money comes a message, implicit or explicit, that the Bush administration expects them to use the tactics they prefer - unnecessary violence and harassment of citizens.

[yardwork]

3. A short list of "things no American should expect to have the right to do"

includes not expecting to have the right to choose not to hand over one's personal property to be searched at Circuit City, not expecting to have the right to tap your feet in a public bathroom without being arrested, not having the right to have a seizure on an airplane without expecting to be tackled and thrown in jail as soon as the plane lands, not expecting to be tazered for behaving rudely at a public speech held by an elected official, not expecting to allow your child to hold a sippy cup of water while disembarking from a plane without being arrested and having all your property searched, etc. etc.

And these are the comments we see on a supposedly progressive board.

[iamthebandfanman]

16. wow really ?

cause the only one ive seen expressed is the first one, with receipts.

[Kingshakabobo]

18. Generalize much?

While we are playing that game, why don't we say it's OK for a bully to commandeer any microphone at any speaking engagement. Next time some person or some freeper grabs the mic, the hosts and the attendees can just sit and take it or pack up and go home if they don't like the newly self appointed "speaker." You know, the guy that wants to "inform."

Is it OK to have split opinions or see both sides of some of these issues?

For instance:

Circuit City........the store manager was wrong and so was the cop. The manager unlawfully restrained the customer and the cop violated his civil rights.

tap your feet in a public bathroom without being arrested.........tap? yes. Peep? probably not - depending on how close his eye was to the door crack........definitely not enough evidence of a "lewd act." The peeping law is tenuous, at best, when applied to "leering" through a door crack without any extraordinary effort - i.e. possibly waiting for a stall.

Seizure on an airplane.........don't remember that one.

Sippy cup..........the woman was acting like a badge-heavy asshole cop - flashing her secret service credentials. Furthermore, she was caught in a lie when she said the water spilled - the video clearly shows she purposely dumped it on the floor.

The "mic bully"..........asked to leave? yes. Escorted when he refuses? yes. Tackled when he violently resists? Yes. Tasered? No.

[yardwork]

28. Where am I generalizing? I didn't say everybody believes those things.

But I have definitely seen numerous posts supporting corporate interests over individual rights on these and other supposedly progressive boards.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. they should come here, 'weed city'

everyone would be in jail here

[Greyhound]

26. Not progressive, Democratic.

There's the rub, there is no progressive or liberal party in this country. We have two conservative parties, both serving corporate interests over those of the citizens.

[bobbolink]

27. women expected to smile at sexism, people who hurt/care told to "grow a skin"

Yes, the list can go on for miles about the "New Progressivism"

And there are so many defenses to explain it all for you.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

11. Of course she deserved it. Her lawn was brown after all and that's against the law.

:sarcasm:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

17. Did they taser her?

I'll bet she doesn't even go to Circuit City.

[Momgonepostal]

2. That is horrible!

I hope Ms. Allred sticks it to Orem and HARD.

My mom is about that lady's age and until recently had a really tough time even watering her lawn because her feet were bad and needs a cane, and was afraid of falling. We finally had automatic sprinklers put in, because she just couldn't do it by hand.

[liberal N proud]

4. She didn't conform so they locked her up

:sarcasm:

[me b zola]

5. Failure to "maintain landscaping" is a misdemeanor?

:wtf:

I've said it before and I'll say it again. When a busy-body pays my mortgage, then they can tell me how to keep my yard. Until then they can STFU.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Sheesh! Half My Town Would Be Arrested If We Had This Law!

Yeah, i'm a bit of a freak about trimmed bushes, and neat edging of the walks, and pulling weeds out of the flower and bush beds. But, if we had this law, the town could fund universal lawn care.
The Professor

[me b zola]

13. If republican (and other certain congress-critters)

ever figured out how make their buddies rich with billion dollar contracts, we probably will see a law like this in our future.

[The Wielding Truth]

23. Yep. hope someone gets sued for roughing up an old lady.

[truebrit71]

6. Failing to maintain landsacping is a misdemeanor? On what fucked up planet?

Good grief! They're criminalizing gardening now? Holy fucking shit!

[lapislzi]

19. No, they're criminalizing NOT gardening

If that's the case, I'm going to be put away for a very long time. I'm the original xerescaper. Is it green? Does it sort of grow without me having to do anything to it? Great. That's my "garden." If they want me, they're going to have to cut through the weeds to get me.

[Bonobo]

7. They were just following established "Procedure"! Jeez!

[SacredCow]

8. Yeah, I remember this happening.....

And I get blown off when I call the city to attempt to force my neighbor to cut his lawn. It wasn't so bad this summer, since we've been kind of dry, but I've seen his weeds get well over 3 feet tall and harbor critters.

[lapislzi]

20. OK, a couple of questions

I don't understand your post. Your problem with your neighbor's lawn sounds like just that--YOUR problem.

Is your neighbor elderly or otherwise impaired...so maybe he/she can't cut the lawn? If yes, wouldn't it be nice if instead of calling the city, you and your neighbors made arrangements to have it cut for him? When he was old and infirm, my dad's neighbors used to do that and it was much appreciated.

Critters? What kind of critters? Little teeny field mice (easily controlled), bats, mountain lions, what? A problem with animals should be referred to animal control, the humane society, or dealt with using conventional pest control measures.

Is your neighbor frequently out of town? Have you tried speaking to him/her?

This sounds like poor relations with your neighbor. I tell you what...the quickest way to get me to dig my heels in is to try to force me to do something, especially something that has nothing to do with you.

[SacredCow]

21. Answers...

My problem is that there are rats and nutria living in his overgrown yard. If they stayed in there, that would be fine- but they don't. I've killed 3 in my carport this year alone. And no- this NEVER happened until he moved in and allowed his lawn to grow unchecked for MONTHS at a time.

He's in absolutely no way (physically) handicapped. He's an inconsiderate jackass- period.

Critters, as mentioned previously, include Rats and Nutria. I'll attach a pic of a Nutria for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/andera/nutria,-coypu-13191.jpg

Speaking to him? Frequently. And his response is always the same- "Fuck you- I don't give a shit." Frankly, I've never heard him use a sentence that doesn't include the F word. My 5-year old has learned some wonderful language from his rants.


Still think it's poor relations on MY part? I promise you that I don't lose much sleep over the city coming to cut his lawn and sending him a $100 bill for it.

[lapislzi]

31. Sorry you live next to an asshole.

Those critters look destructive, albeit cute. Do hav-a-heart traps work on them? Regrettably with critters, eventually it comes down to you-or-them. I have had to kill things I would rather not have killed, but my home is MY home.

I can understand your frustration, although I have been on the other side of it. Our neighbor is the neighborhood nazi. He goes around putting potted flowers on the corners and flags outside of everyone's driveway (I burnt the flag in the barbecue as I was unable to return it to him). He approached my husband--who absolutely could not care less about landscaping; he keeps the lawn trimmed and that's it--to enlist his help in mowing/landscaping the property across the street that abuts the Metro-North railroad (it's owned by the railroad). You could have heard my husband laughing in Albany. Now we see the neighbor out there, grooming the strip with nail scissors (I swear!) Whatever floats your boat, pal, I say...but it still kind of annoys me that he expected us to buy into his little landscaping universe.

Peace to you, and watch out for the critters.

[SacredCow]

36. I'm certainly in no way a neighborhood Nazi....

I'm not sure that my subdivision even has one of those, come to think of it.

I really don't care whether he landscapes or not- all I ask is that he cut it before it gets to the point of being a wildlife refuge and, subsequently, a danger to my personal health. For the record, nutria are FAR from cute. They're very nasty creatures that carry all kinds of disease and reproduce like rabbits. Trapping them is an exercise in futility. At certain times of the year (when their population explodes), the state puts out a bounty on them; you can get a license to go kill them at will and earn $5 per tail.

Perhaps my reply to the OP was unclear. I'm in no way a proponent of getting into other people's business. I was just commenting on the irony of this woman being harassed for a brown (and presumably harmless) lawn while I have to spend days on the phone to get someone from the government to cut down a virtual forest with documented vermin.

Peace back to you-

[lapislzi]

39. Once again, my sympathies

We have an annual flying squirrel problem in our home (we live in a heavily wooded area). Now, they are undeniably cute little fellas, but I have long ago given up on the humane approach when it's a case of these little bastards chewing through the electric wiring in my attic. They gotta go.

Maybe you should tell the town the next time you call that the critters are "acting funny." Like maybe they have rabies. That might bring 'em out in a hurry. I called once about a raccoon I saw during the day and the next thing you knew the neighborhood was on lockdown! Don't know about LA, but around here they take rabies concerns very seriously.

Maybe you and your neighbors can chip in on a drum of Agent Orange to treat your neighbor's vegetation problem. :P

Here's hoping he's downstream of you.

[walldude]

10. Brown lawn? Off to Gitmo with her!!!

Then taser her ass.

My lawn is brown. Last week my landlord came over to complain about two things. That my lawn is brown, and my water bill is too high. I should have tasered his ass.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. no way. Taser her first. If she dies on her brown lawn

they can cite her for trashing her yard on top of not watering it.

[nini]

14. no water? how did she flush her toilet?

:puke:

[Clark2008]

15. Dear Lord - I guess my family will be carted off to Gitmo tomorrow.

We've had a tremendously dry summer and don't want to spend money or waste water to water our lawn - and won't.

What an incredible violation of Civil Rights!

I'm speechless.

[RangerRK]

24. off topic

(oh my God what a beautiful family!)

[TahitiNut]

25. The municipality SELLS water ... and has a law requiring it be poured on the ground?

Where can I get into a business like that? :silly:

I think it's fascinating that the opponents of 'moral relativism' are prosecuting a woman for doing something she'd be REQUIRED to do if she lived just a few hundred miles to the west during a water shortage.

During water shortages in California, a brown lawn is regarded as a mark of a "good citizen."

In southern Arizona, a lawn is the mark of an idiot.

[Missy M]

29. There seems to be more to this story.....

the woman had her water shut off for nine months, at her request, while still living in the house. How on earth did she bathe, flush, cook, clean. etc. Why would she request her water be turned off. Where was her family.

[Kingshakabobo]

30. That's really sad.

This is ONE time I'm happy that Allred character is involved.

[in_cog_ni_to]

33. The NEW America. Choose between water or brown grass.

It was probably more like choosing between FOOD and water or medicine and water.:(

[bdamomma]

35. yea, water is going to be like oil next, privatization, that is what these

fucks want next, and even the roads, the repigs mantra you want it you have to pay for it.

[in_cog_ni_to]

32. She resisted arrest! She should have been handcuffed and arrested! Can't have radical 70 year old

women dissin' the cops! Brown grass? OFF WITH HER HEAD! Poor Orem, Utah must not own any taser guns! That would have been much more effective.:eyes:

[bdamomma]

34. these police should be reined in, they are totally losing it

treating people like criminals, I can think of a place where they can find real criminals.

[in_cog_ni_to]

37. First word, first letter W, second word, first letter H?

;) Just a long shot guess.

[Bassic]

38. This is is pathetic,

It makes me want to scream.