Woman arrested for not watering lawn

[WolfeMacleod]

Disturbing. The criminal. Lock her up and throw away the key!


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.
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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."
She says the policeman who brought her home tonight was very courteous, even held open the door for her. But there were no gentlemen there when she was taken from her home this morning and booked into jail.
When Betty Perry heard a knock at her door and saw a police officer standing outside, she never imagined she would end up in jail. That's what happened, though, when the officer tried enforcing Orem's nuisance ordinance against neglected yards.
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"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.
Orem police spokesman Lt. Doug Edwards said, "Every officer in his career has situations they find themselves getting into, at the end of it they scratch their head and say, ‘gosh, how did this happen?' Today, I think, was one of those days. Clearly there were some other options available."
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.

[cool_chick]

She was arrested for what appears to be obstruction, not for not watering the lawn. Apparently, the not-watering-the-lawn is subject to some sort of ticket.

And while it sucks for some people to have to do such things, I would think her lawn could be a fire hazard to her neighbors.

[Victor]

Ahhhh yes - Amerika.

LAND OF THE FREE !

(& The brave. Or something)

What a joke. Don't the 'ol grandma have no gun? Could have defended her rights then, fer sure.

[Jamie79SC]

Have you ever been to Orem. Makes Stepford look like Woodstock.

[DaveE]

Maybe someone could commute her sentence................

[cashflyer]

Orem needs a few good rednecks.

[island911]

Originally posted by cool_chick
She was arrested for what appears to be obstruction, not for not watering the lawn. ...

riiiggghtt . .. and Rosa Parks should've just moved to the back of the bus.

[Jeff Higgins]

I wonder if they have a "stop and identify" law; I know Washington and many other states do not. I wonder if the officer had a warrent. I wonder if some one will help her out and take up her cause, some one like the ACLU. This officer belongs in jail. He should be sued until he is living in a cardboard box under an overpass somewhere. Oh well, I suppose she should just be happy he didn't shoot her through the closed door, mistaking the sounds of her walker for gunshots or something.

[Nathans_Dad]

Ok, I agree that the story is sad. However, CC brings up a good point. Let's say her lawn hasn't been watered in a year and is dry as a bone. Then in the middle of summer her lawn catches fire and burns down her house and two others next to her, killing her and an infant that lives next door.

What would you say then?

[cstreit]

I'm sure the lawn watering ticket could have been thrown out later, but refusing to give the police your name for a citation, you betcha that's trouble, little-old-lady or not.

[kach22i]

Originally posted by DaveE
Maybe someone could commute her sentence................

She spent more time in jail than Scooter!

[The Gaijin]

All residents of that town should perform an act of civil disobedience and not give up any ID under any circumstances until the that officer and police chief are gone.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Makes me want to go right out and sign on the dotted line to pay $3,000+ a month for the rest of my life to some bank to "own" a POS property that'll "be my own" and I can do what I want on, doesn't it?

Yep. Those incentives for homeownership sure are enticing. NOT!

[The Gaijin]

Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Ok, I agree that the story is sad. However, CC brings up a good point. Let's say her lawn hasn't been watered in a year and is dry as a bone. Then in the middle of summer her lawn catches fire and burns down her house and two others next to her, killing her and an infant that lives next door.

What would you say then?

I would say of your Aunt grew balls, you could call her Uncle. Leave the citation on the porch. Give the old lady your card and wait for someone with some common sence to call. Arrest an old lady on her own porch? Gimme a 'effn break.

[kach22i]

I watched a little of the news last night, with the whole western part of the nation going up in flames maybe people are scared.

Just something to think about.

[sketchers356]

This happened in Washington State?

[Super_Dave_D]

At least she learned her lesson and got on the program!

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

[slakjaw]

Originally posted by cool_chick
She was arrested for what appears to be obstruction, not for not watering the lawn. Apparently, the not-watering-the-lawn is subject to some sort of ticket.

And while it sucks for some people to have to do such things, I would think her lawn could be a fire hazard to her neighbors.

What BS

I will ask how you feel when you are bonding your mother out of the freaking clink.... For not watering the stupid lawn.

I would have resisted arrest for something this lame as well. And **** the neighbors.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Ok, I agree that the story is sad. However, CC brings up a good point. Let's say her lawn hasn't been watered in a year and is dry as a bone. Then in the middle of summer her lawn catches fire and burns down her house and two others next to her, killing her and an infant that lives next door.

What would you say then?

"Oops."

[slakjaw]

What would you say then?

Your odds of having sex with paris are way higher.