A 70 year old woman was arrested for not watering her lawn - should this happen in America?

Question

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=1444771

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.



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."

stiggo629 is correct - she was arrested for not giving her name when the officer wanted to write a ticket. Sorry.

I USUALLY side with the Police. My Dad was a cop. Not this time though.

I think she should have gotten a warning FIRST - not a ticket.
I live in a subdivison that CAN impose fines if you do not keep up your yard and I LIKE that...LOVE IT actually.

I have a big problem with this person's AGE and probable income.

Answer 1

Wow!

That officer really over-reacted!!

Bad call there!

All the officer had to do was find out her name in their databases and mail her the ticket!

Even his boss said the officer was out of line and had other recourse options available!

Answer 2

Is there a law that says you even have to have a lawn?
Around here people who're buying homes are taking out the lawn and in it's place putting in rocks or covering it with cement.
And there's a whole bunch of homes with dead grass and weeds in the front yard.
But those people are not Caucasian and were not born and raised here in America.
I think they are picking on a little old lady simply because they can knowing that no one is going to riot or protest because of it.
If I had the money I would pay to have the lady's lawn removed and in it's place put something that's easier and more affordable to manage.
Who knows maybe this is just the beginning for her and someone is fixing to seize her property claiming eminent domain and this is just a first in a long line of headaches to come.
And I don't think this should be happening in America.
If her lawn is bothering someone then instead of being a rat and reporting her for it why didn't they try and be a good neighbor and offer to help her with it?
That would be the American thing to do.
But not arresting her.
And she probably didn't want to give her name to the police officer because she was confused or afraid and even though that's still no excuse the police officer could have been more reasonable with her.
I remember when I last shopped at this one Safeway grocery store,outside was a homeless person two sheets to the wind and drinking a 40 ounce beer and swaying back and forth about to pass out drunk.
I called the police and when they arrived instead of hauling him off to jail for public intoxication they reasoned with him and pleaded with him to please get up and go home.
All the while the man was insulting them and waving the 40 ounce in their faces and finally agreed to leave and when he acted like he was leaving the police actually clapped their hands saying "hooray hooray", and then they left too.
Then the drunk went back to his post outside the Safeway grocery store where he passed out cold.
If they can be that lenient on a homeless drunk then I'm sure they can show a little more mercy to an old lady.

Answer 3

The 70 year old woman was initially just going to be given a citiation. However, according to two police officers on the scene, she became combative, abusive and then after being warned that if she did not calm down she would be taken into custody, she was arrested for unruly conduct and civil disobedience. She then resisted arrest and attempted to fight off the two officers, which is when she got banged up.

This is some country-fried redneck who couldn't take ten minutes out to run a sprinkler on her lawn and was destroying the look of her entire neighborhood. The police simply went to issue a citation and she picks a fight with two police officers. Now you want to demonize the cops and create sympathy for a low-rent low-life who can't even speak in a civil tone to two law enforcement officers.

If she were black, would you still be defending her or would you be telling the cops' side of the story?

Answer 4

She was arrested for refusing to give her name not refusing to water her lawn. If she had been cooperative, she probably would've gotten a ticket, which she could then fight using age and inability to pay as an excuse.

Essentially, she began by refusing a ticket and refusing to give her name, then she tried to get away from the officer by going into the house.This is considered "resisting arrest". As horrible as the story is, she was injured during the commission of a crime (resisting arrest) due to her own actions.

Is there a particular age or income level where we should exempt people from respecting the law and law enforcement personnel?

Answer 5

It's funny but you are supposed to mow your lawn but not use a mower and you aren't allowed to water your lawn unless you are a big business and then you can water around the clock 24-7.But this seems like a new one.What a sack of ridiculous.

But I bet the gang banger driving around the block 1000 times with their stereo blasting while they look for underage girls didn't spend their morning in jail.

Answer 6

This is pretty sad, but it barely scratches the surface of zoning laws and even worse, neighborhood association regulations. On the one hand, these laws and regulations can be ridiculous and restrictive. On the other hand, without them, many people's property values would plummet because their neighbors didn't keep up their property, and many neighborhoods would decline.

Of course, that doesn't excuse sending a 70-year-old to jail.

Answer 7

Should communities be allowed to vote democratically to enact zoning laws that exist to protect property values and quality of life?

Do you approve of people refusing to cooperate with police when the are breaking the law?

Did you look at the pictures of that "lawn" which was nothing but dirt -- would you want that next door to YOUR house?

If that lady is too poor to follow the zoning regs of her community, maybe she should move into a trailer park where she won't have to worry about zoning laws.

Why do I get the feeling if this story was about a Hispanic person or Black couple instead of a little old white lady you would not be making this post?

I have to laugh at "conservatives" who feel sorry for this lawbreaker and destroyer of property values. What a bunch of bleeding hearts. Also, stupid people who read this as going to jail for not watering her lawn!

Answer 8

At what age are you suggesting people are no longer required to obey the law?

Presumably she knew the law when she moved in. Or are we going to begin accepting the "ignorance of the law" defense?

If I was living next to her and watching my property value diminish she would not have been doing this for a year before the cops got involved.

Answer 9

You really want to find Nazism in America. Forget the skinheads, forget the Aryan Nation, forget the devisive namecalling of Bush and Hillary. I give you Home Owners Associations!

Answer 10

what a shame. the officer should be embarassed. this women lives in Utah. isn't that the desert? what kind of a town passes an ordinance requiring residents to water their lawn? no wonder the Colorado River is dried up.