Alabama pastor arrested while watering neighbor’s flowers, video shows

It was starting to get dark in Childersburg, Alabama, on May 22, so the Rev. Michael Jennings figured it was a good time to water the purple petunias and hydrangeas for his neighbor up the street, who was vacationing.

Jennings, 56 and a pastor of 31 years, said by phone on Tuesday that he had done this many times over his seven years in the neighborhood on Sixth Avenue, just a few blocks from the Childersburg Police Department.

About 6 p.m., a police vehicle drove slowly past the neighbor’s house and parked beside it. Jennings, who is Black, recalled saying to himself, “Here we go.” Then, according to body camera footage, Jennings was approached by an officer who asked him, “What you doing here, man?”

“Watering flowers,” Jennings replies, holding a hose.

He tells the officer that he is “Pastor Jennings” and lives across the street, and the officer asks him to provide identification, the footage shows. But Jennings refuses, saying that he had done nothing wrong and that he was being racially profiled, according to the video.

About 10 minutes later, he was arrested and charged with “obstructing government operations,” a charge that was eventually dropped after local prosecutors and the police realized that Jennings had not broken any law, according to his lawyer, Harry Daniels. He released the body camera footage last week.

“This is a case of police abuse, police intimidation and racial profiling,” Daniels said by phone on Tuesday.

Jennings and Daniels said they planned to file a lawsuit next week.

The Childersburg Police Department and its interim police chief, Kevin Koss, did not immediately respond to emails and calls seeking comment on Tuesday night.

The sergeant who responded to the scene, identified in the police incident report as Jeremy Brooks, could not be immediately reached for comment. The names of the two other police officers involved in the arrest were not immediately clear.

A call from a neighbor, Amanda, whose last name is not listed in the arrest report, prompted the encounter. She had reported “suspicious activity” at the home, according to Daniels.

Earlier this year, Amanda had invited Jennings to her son’s graduation party, Jennings said. But she appeared to not recognize him that day as he watered the flowers.

After Jennings was put in the back of a police car, the body camera footage shows Amanda telling the officers that he lives in the neighborhood and that it was normal for him to be watering flowers at that time.

“This is probably my fault,” she tells officers.

Jennings said he was still startled about the encounter. But he added that he does not hate the people involved.

“The Bible teaches us to love thy neighbor,” he said. “Whether it’s the one you want to water their flowers for, or the one who calls the police on you.”