MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The police officers who arrested a Black pastor while he watered his neighbour’s plants can be sued, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, reversing a lower court judge’s decision to dismiss the pastor’s lawsuit.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the three officers who arrested Michael Jennings in Childersburg, Alabama, lacked probable cause for the arrest and are therefore not shielded by qualified immunity.
Qualified immunity protects officers from civil liability while performing their duties as long as their actions don’t violate clearly established law or constitutional rights which they should have known about.
Jennings was arrested in May 2022 after a white neighbour reported him to police as he was watering his friend’s garden while they were out of town. The responding officers said they arrested Jennings because he refused to provide a physical ID. Body camera footage shows that the man repeatedly told officers he was “Pastor Jennings” and that he lived across the street.
Attorneys for Jennings argued that the footage shows that the officers decided to arrest Jennings without probable cause “less than five minutes after” they arrived.
“This is a win for Pastor Jennings and a win for justice. The video speaks for itself,” said Harry Daniels, the lead attorney for Jennings. “Finally, Pastor Jennings will have his day in court and prove that wearing a badge does not give you the right to break the law.”
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Attorneys representing the officers involved, as well as the city of Childersburg, did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Friday.
In December, Chief District Judge R. David Proctor had dismissed the case against the officers on the basis of qualified immunity.
Alabama law states officers have a right to request the name, address and explanation of a person in a public place if he “reasonably suspects” that person is committing or about to commit a crime, but an officer does not have a legal right to demand physical identification, the 11th circuit court decision said.
Jennings was arrested on a charge of obstructing government operations. Those charges were dismissed within days at the request of the police chief. The pastor then filed a lawsuit a few months later, saying the ordeal violated his constitutional rights and caused lingering problems including emotional distress and anxiety.
Daniels, the lead attorney for Jennings, said that the decision could affect other ongoing civil rights cases across the state.
“This has major implications for anyone who has been subjected to unlawful arrest because they wouldn’t give their ID,” said Daniels.