Did the police act appropriately?

[dquan97]

Link

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, left, sits with attorney Gloria Allred in Utah's Fourth District Court on Tuesday in Orem, Utah.

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.

"I ask the citizens of Orem: How many of you would like to have your great-grandmother taken from her home with bruises and blood and placed in handcuffs for failing to water her lawn?" attorney Gloria Allred said.

"Let's bring sanity back to law enforcement," she said.

The mayor and City Council apologized, and the police department said the situation could have been handled differently. But the city attorney still is pressing charges, and Perry is due back in court next month.

A state investigation found that Officer James Flygare acted properly in arresting Perry after trying to get her to cooperate.

Perry's water had been turned off for about nine months, at her request, although she was living at the house at the time of the arrest. Orem has a shutoff policy for people who are away for extended periods.

 

[boomerang]

What a shame that the gub'ment has the power to go to these extremes over a lawn.

I would say it's rather obvious that she had her water turned off because she couldn't afford it. The answer I guess is to arrest her. That'll teach her.

Of course she could have had the water turned off because she's not in her right mind. Arresting her will take care of that, for sure.

We're losing freedoms at an alarming rate. We're turning into a dictatorship.

Well, great civilizations have fallen before. Life is going to get very interesting for some of you younger folks.

Edit: To answer your question, yes the police did act appropriately. They upheld the law as it was written. You can be sure they were ordered to do what they did. I'll also say that they were probably none too happy to have to do so. Don't blame the police.

 

[BoberFett]

There's nothing I can add to what boomerang said. He's exactly right.

 

[imported_Shivetya]

Yes.

The law is what is wrong, not the police. Fortunately the police cannot pick and choose which laws they want to enforce.


I live in a HOA controlled subdivision. The rules of the HOA are enforceable at a state level, yes STATE. They can put liens on your property and all that jazz and its a real pain to fight a belligerent HOA. Same as with a government. The two are very little different, both usually feature people who want to be in power and are the last people you want in power

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: Shivetya
Yes.

The law is what is wrong, not the police. Fortunately the police cannot pick and choose which laws they want to enforce.


I live in a HOA controlled subdivision. The rules of the HOA are enforceable at a state level, yes STATE. They can put liens on your property and all that jazz and its a real pain to fight a belligerent HOA. Same as with a government. The two are very little different, both usually feature people who want to be in power and are the last people you want in power

Yes and you can lose your house from not being able to pay the HOA fees, which I feel ultimately is a gross violation of property rights. This has been a hot button issue in FL because there are a number of retirees who have faced this situation. Some who have owned their home outright for 20-30 years.

 

[jonks]

The story doesn't make it clear why exactly she was arrested. If the cop asked for her name so he could cite her for the lawn misdemeanor and she refused or attempted to escape back into her house then she gets arrested. The law may be dumb, but when a cop asks for your name for the ticket, you have to comply. At least he didn't wrestle her to the ground and taser her.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6928168

In July, Perry was cited by Officer James Flygare of the police's Neighborhood Preservation Unit for failing to water her lawn. Perry refused to give her name to the officer and, when Flygare tried to stop her from going back inside her house, she reportedly tripped and injured her nose.

Damn Old People think they're above the law!

 

[piasabird]

This is kind of stupid since Utah is a dry state, where they have to irrigate crops to get them to grow.

Look out it is the Lawn Nazi's.

Hmm....

Dig up lawn make a desert landscape with rocks and cactus.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: sirjonk
The story doesn't make it clear why exactly she was arrested. If the cop asked for her name so he could cite her for the lawn misdemeanor and she refused or attempted to escape back into her house then she gets arrested. The law may be dumb, but when a cop asks for your name for the ticket, you have to comply. At least he didn't wrestle her to the ground and taser her.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6928168

In July, Perry was cited by Officer James Flygare of the police's Neighborhood Preservation Unit for failing to water her lawn. Perry refused to give her name to the officer and, when Flygare tried to stop her from going back inside her house, she reportedly tripped and injured her nose.

Damn Old People think they're above the law!

It should be the responsibility of the home owner to water the lawn, so the citation should have been sent to them.

If the police come to your door, asking your name, you shouldn't have to tell them shit. It's your castle.

 

[tomywishbone]

I'm shocked she wasn't tasered. Pun intended.

 

[Rustler]

They should have excuted her on the spot for having a brown lawn, such a crime, we really need to clogg our courts with that.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Rustler
They should have excuted her on the spot for having a brown lawn, such a crime, we really need to clogg our courts with that.

Absolutely. Obviously a complaint was made and the law broken.

That Officer should be reprimanded for not Tasing her, that is standard proceedure now.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: boomerang
What a shame that the gub'ment has the power to go to these extremes over a lawn.

I would say it's rather obvious that she had her water turned off because she couldn't afford it. The answer I guess is to arrest her. That'll teach her.

Of course she could have had the water turned off because she's not in her right mind. Arresting her will take care of that, for sure.

We're losing freedoms at an alarming rate. We're turning into a dictatorship.

Well, great civilizations have fallen before. Life is going to get very interesting for some of you younger folks.

Edit: To answer your question, yes the police did act appropriately. They upheld the law as it was written. You can be sure they were ordered to do what they did. I'll also say that they were probably none too happy to have to do so. Don't blame the police.

I posted this many years ago when there wasn't so many of these "alarming" cases.

I have been blasted as the resident AT whacko on these issues but as more and more people get personally affected they are starting to agree with this whacko.

Scary isn't it? :laugh:

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: Rustler
They should have excuted her on the spot for having a brown lawn, such a crime, we really need to clogg our courts with that.

Municipalities have zoning laws and regulations about how your yard must look. You can't park your own car in your own driveway in Sacramento County, for example if it's not registered. And of course it has to be registered only if it is driven on the street. These laws are there to maintain the value of real estate, and to fatten local government coffers via enforcement and penalties. You can't win when the Mafia is the state. But what kind of a monster ruins the neighborhood by having a brown lawn. Has she no respect for the sales price of her neighbor or her local real estate agent's commission.

There are groups that patrol neighborhoods to identify violators to the authorities.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam

Originally posted by: Rustler
They should have excuted her on the spot for having a brown lawn, such a crime, we really need to clogg our courts with that.

Municipalities have zoning laws and regulations about how your yard must look. You can't park your own car in your own driveway in Sacramento County, for example if it's not registered. And of course it has to be registered only if it is driven on the street. These laws are there to maintain the value of real estate, and to fatten local government coffers via enforcement and penalties. You can't win when the Mafia is the state. But what kind of a monster ruins the neighborhood by having a brown lawn. Has she no respect for the sales price of her neighbor or her local real estate agent's commission.

There are groups that patrol neighborhoods to identify violators to the authorities.

Correct. Don't blame the police, blame the organizations that create these laws.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: boomerang
What a shame that the gub'ment has the power to go to these extremes over a lawn.

I would say it's rather obvious that she had her water turned off because she couldn't afford it. The answer I guess is to arrest her. That'll teach her.

Of course she could have had the water turned off because she's not in her right mind. Arresting her will take care of that, for sure.

We're losing freedoms at an alarming rate. We're turning into a dictatorship.

Well, great civilizations have fallen before. Life is going to get very interesting for some of you younger folks.

Edit: To answer your question, yes the police did act appropriately. They upheld the law as it was written. You can be sure they were ordered to do what they did. I'll also say that they were probably none too happy to have to do so. Don't blame the police.

I agree.

you can't fault the police (though they could have handeled it better). I blame the HOA.

getting a ticket for having a brown lawn? WTF?

but the lady did bring this on herself. no i am not talking about the lawn. i am talking about her refusing to give a name and trying to go back inside.

 

[daveshel]

Originally posted by: Shivetya
The law is what is wrong, not the police. Fortunately the police cannot pick and choose which laws they want to enforce.

I think police have pretty wide discretion as to whether they act or look the other way. Maybe the actual officers were under orders, but their bosses determine priorities and could have decided this was a low priority.

 

[gwlam12]

Brown lawn, if it's because it's dry, can be a fire hazard, too, can't it?

 

[XZeroII]

[joke mode]She was arrested because she is racist. She needs to have some black, white, and red grass in there too.[/joke mode]

But seriously, local ordinances are laws too. And not following police instructions will get you put in jail no matter what. The police were certainly in the right.