Woman, 70, Bloody nose for having a dry lawn

sltrib.com ^ | 07/07/07 | Julie Espinosa

[TornadoAlley3]

'He really abused me,' resident says after arrest by Orem police officer

OREM - Two days after Independence Day, 70-year-old Betty Perry experienced an ordeal she said shouldn't be happening in America.

The retired military and U.S. government employee answered the door at her home Friday morning to talk with a police officer about her bone-dry lawn and ended up getting arrested and suffering a bloody nose. "What have I done?" she asked. "I'm old now. I can't believe this."

The Orem police officer, as yet unnamed by city officials, cited Perry for violating a city ordinance with her "sadly neglected and dying landscape," which resembles dry hay.

When Perry refused to give her name and tried to walk inside to call her son, the officer tried to arrest her, police say. According to a police news release, while she was struggling, she tripped and fell on her doorstop, cutting open the bridge of her nose. But Perry maintains the officer split her nose when he hit her with the set of handcuffs he was trying to restrain her with.

"As far as I'm concerned, he really abused me - he brutally abused me," Perry said. "For what?" The officer called for backup, because he was driving a truck, and the now-handcuffed Perry was taken to a holding facility in Orem. She was not given water or allowed to wash her hands or call her son, she said.

"After being booked, supervisors became aware of the circumstances and immediately released the woman and returned her to her home on the basis that there were other options available to handle this situation besides making an arrest and holding the woman in jail," Orem police Lt. Doug Edwards wrote in the news release.

[bannie]

I’m on the 70-year-old lady’s side; but I’m not on the bear’s side.

[peggybac]

Hmmm, I need some extra money. I’ll be right back. I have to remove the water sprinklers from my front and back yard.

[Doohickey]

On top of that, aren’t there currently water restrictions in the Salt Lake valley?

[tenthirteen]

If this "officer" had tried this BS at my home, he would be room temperature.

Great. And you'd be in jail. Excellent cognitive thought there, Wyatt.

[dragnet2]

On top of that, aren’t there currently water restrictions in the Salt Lake valley?

Let me guess, the city passed water restrictions ordinances, but if your lawn looks like crap, you get cited?

Perfect. They get your money either way.

[ErnBatavia]

Where did this happen?

This was around San Bernardino, CA...the local newspaper gave very in-depth day by day reports of the court proceedings.

I started out thinking this cop should fry, but reading about the witness testimony, the (now fired) officer was rightly exonerated. Eyes play tricks, and video snippets hardly tell the whole story.

There was a thread going about this story last week, and a goon-squad of cop hating FReepers were ganging up on me in their ignorance of the facts.....kneejerk reactions, to be sure.

[Taichi]

Geez, here in GA it’s just the reverse. The police will come and haul us away if we water our lawns.

[secretagent]

I found the story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/inland/la-me-airman27jun27,1,4951062.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

San Bernardino, Jan. 29, 2006.

[sport]

You better be careful. The police-can-do-no-wrong crowd will be on you like ugly on a ape.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Freedom has it’s price, Florida.

[secretagent]

Do you have the the FR thread link?

[sport]

From what I have seen there are plenty more to tale their place.

[freekitty]

I am not sure what to believe. I had a bad experience with who I believed not to be a Houston cop; but could never verify it. I just shut my mouth and let him yell. I couldn’t even find a badge; but I never learned whether he was one or not.

On the average our cops here in Houston are good people.

[bubbacluck]

damm delta smelt.

Did you hear that Ahnuld is thinking about putting through the Peripheral Canal again?

[Puddleglum]

Sounds like she had a run in with Barney Fife (well, a more brutal but just as power-giddy Barney Fife).

[Bon mots]

Incredible video clip. The cop did ask the “suspect” to get up and then shot him.

Where did this happen?

Chino County

The lying cop claimed that he chased them through Chino, but they were driving a Corvette - which he could have never caught if they were actually fleeing and not merely driving fast. The other thing is that the unarmed man he shot was a passenger and not at all hostile. The only hostile person on the whole film is the crazy cop - who attempted to execute (murder) this poor boy.

Lucky thing the cop is black, so he'll skate.

The lying cop also claimed that the suspect "lunged at him", which you can clearly see did not happen in the video.

[NonValueAdded]

and those were just the female cops :)

Actually, most of our force seems to hang out at the gym. It might not be BS in his neck of the woods.

[359Henrie]

Yes 20 years late, and the bitchen’ is starting again.

[lastchance]

HI, where in Florida do you live?

Claim the weeds are xeriscape. Maybe that will shut them up.

[night reader]

Sue their pants off.

She's gonn'a own the Orem Police Department!