Posted on 07/07/2007 3:40:24 PM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at sltrib.com ...
No doubt she's a very smart criminal.
Perry was eventually handcuffed and taken to jail, where she spent more than an hour before officials decided custody was inappropriate.
Eventually? I bet she put up one heck of a fight. He probably should have tased her. Give her a real attitude adjustment.
The police officer who arrested Perry was suspended.
What a surprise.
We had a family get together here a while back....and I have a large family, and live in a cul-de-sac in a tony golf course community.
Arrogant ass across the street chased a couple of the family (well, their cars) away from in front of his house. We have virtually no curb space here. There was no reason for it, and if any in his little clique had visitors park there.....NO problem.
Well....that pissed me off. I stalked out of the house...and this candyass who’s twice my size started to bolt towards his garage. I wound up putting a dent in the door of my own Suburban with my fist, I was so angry...and he saw it happen.
Never had a problem with him since.
I was going to say this cop reminded me of the BTK killer, whose official job was “Code Enforcement Officer”, meaning “Dog catcher with attitude”. After he was busted as a serial killer, all his neighbors were telling the press what an a-hole with a badge he was.
That the supervisor thinks that this is a “learning experience” for an “intelligent” “young” officer, rather than grounds for immediate dismissal tells me that this is an entire police department out of control.
Yeah, he should have shot her in the back for not watering her lawn.
cough-cop groupie-cough
Ah, so she tripped and landed face first on the second step? The old lady said she was hit by the officers cuffs in the other article.
70 year old vs cop. All on her own front porch. What a scene. All over a less than green lawn.
What if she had gone back in for a gun ?
LOL! You really hate old ladies, huh?
Seroiusly, any cop that can’t handle a minor incident like this without beating(possibly), handcuffing, and arresting an old woman shouldn’t have a badge. I’m betting he wasn’t a real cop, just a glorified dog catcher with an attitude, like the BTK killer in Wichita.
Uh...She said she was going to call her son...But who knows, maybe she was heading to her arsenal.
You just can't trust these diabolical old people. Especially those that won't water their lawn.
I don't know the laws wherever this was, but I think the cop broke the law by not being in an offical car. It was not in his capacity to arrest her. I wonder if he isn't some neighbor who holds a grudge because his yard is manicured? Man, I hate bullies!
What is wrong with the police officer. If he is that confused about his role there a larger problems than a dead lawn.
Bingo
AND alleluia! Somebody who gets it!
“...all the new guys were these steroid-fueled, shaven head monsters...”
cough-bullshit-cough.
You get the idea, obviously not ALL, this is what the new “culture” of cops look like, I see them every day.
Immediately upon receiving the complaint from the neighbor, the desk sergeant looks up the address and determines what ward the address is in.
Dial-Dial... Ring-Ring... Uh, yes, is Bishop Jones at home? Oh, hi, Bishop, this is Sergeant Smith down at police headquarters. Uh, do you have a Sister Perry in your ward over on 14th Street? Right! Uh, Bishop, wonder if you could get the Aaronic Priesthood (teenage boys) over to her house for a service project this Saturday? Yeah, we got a neighbor complaining about the condition of the the yard. Figured the Church would rather it not become a police matter. Yeah, uh, Bishop, my own sons can help out if you're short of young men. Just let me know.
All this is based on the premise that all are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) which in the case of Orem, Utah is about an eighty percent probability.
This whole mess sounds unreasonable.
We love it here (well, except for this time of year - when wifey - a Minnesota native - tends to melt and then get cranky). We've got the best of California: solid red county, small town atmosphere, and surrounded by nature's "good stuff".
Funny you should ask that. My husband was about 35 when an officer came to our door with an equally silly complaint. My husband shut the door in his face. End of story.
Melting is unpleaseant, no matter where you’re from ;)
You noticed how natural that came out of his mouth!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.