70 yr old Grandmother Arrested and Cuffed in Utah for Disorderly Lawn

[Ichingcarpenter]

Orem, UT (KABC) -- Utah police have arrested a 70-year-old great grandmother for not maintaining her lawn.

The city of Orem says residents have to keep up their property or face a class B misdemeanor.

An officer tried to give Betty Perry a ticket but she refused to give him her name. The officer then tried to put her in handcuffs.

Perry says she fell while the officer handcuffed her, cutting her nose, and that her wrists were also cut from what she calls the officer's use of force.

The police department cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, but Perry has since hired Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred.

A trial starts next Monday.


http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=5933786

[gaspee]

1. Kind of surreal

Anyone else think so? To handcuff an elderly woman for a messy lawn?

She must not be Mormon. Someone would take pity on her and help an old woman with upkeep if she were part of their cult - oops - religion.

[libertee]

2. Go Grandma!!!

[ingac70]

3. I saw her lawn on TV...

I've seen a helluva lot worse, and if the community was so bothered by it, why didn't they help her fix it up?

The stupid shit that passes for crime these days. :eyes:

[Dawggie]

4. This is a sad statement on law enforcenment/the judiciary today.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. All this because she won't water her lawn

That's what started all this you know, she wouldn't water her grass.

I don't blame her. Lawns are a huge waste of water and they're expensive to keep up. I wish I lived close I'd come tear the whole lawn out for her and help do a nice gravel landscape. It seems to me her lawn would be a perfect place for some deliciously tacky garden art too!

Oh the fun I could have. :D

[ingac70]

7. Ha!

They would probably arrest her for bad taste if you did that.

[zabet]

6. Ha! Gloria Allred is her attorney!!!!

:woohoo:

Go Granny!!!

[warren pease]

8. This just in...

Police spokesperson Gene Eric Blond told us Ms. Perry was "...acting belligerently and shouting insults and obscenities at the arresting officers. The officers felt a threat to their personal safety and said they had no choice but to use non-lethal force to protect themselves and subdue her. And no, a dozen taser discharges isn't excessive when officers are in such a dangerous and volatile situation."

Once the taser shocks had worn off and she was able to stand, Ms. Perry was handcuffed, fitted with leg irons, bundled into a straight jacket and secured with chains to a fire safe. Fearing that they might still be at risk, police sprayed the suspect with pepper gas and fired several rubber bullets at her ankles to hobble her. With the assistance of local fire fighters, police deployed high pressure fire hoses to suppress further violence in case Ms. Perry slipped her bonds.

Police spokesperson Blond maintained that these extra measures were standard procedure. Citing the war on terror and the need to remain alert to anything unusual, he thanked Ms. Perry's neighbors for bringing this kind of abnormal behavior to police attention.

"Everything changed on 9/11," Blond said. "We no longer have the luxury of tolerating diversity. There's nothing more important these days than maintaining the appearance of complete normality -- just fitting in. Ms. Perry's failure to keep her lawn up to neighborhood standards is exactly the kind of nonconformity we're looking for. Remember, terrorists don't have time to mow lawns. They're too busy finding new ways to harm America. We will remain vigilant in the face of the greatest this country has faced since the last liberal Congress."



That sounds about right, doesn't it?

wp