Police

Emma Camp | 10.1.2024 1:50 PM

A federal judge is allowing a lawsuit to go forward against the Alabama cops who arrested a pastor as he was watering his neighbor's flowers.

The officers were apparently confused about Alabama's "stop and identify" law. The statute, which has already led to similar lawsuits, allows police to demand that individuals provide their name, their address, and an explanation of their actions when there is "reasonable suspicion" that they are committing a crime. Officers frequently use the law as a pretext to demand that someone hand over a physical ID card, even though a physical ID has significantly more information than people are required to give under the law.

On May 22, 2022, Michael Jennings, a pastor at a church in Childersburg, Alabama, was watering his out-of-town neighbor's flowers when another neighbor........

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