Police going to far

I will start with this.

Elderly Woman Arrested in Clash Over Dry Lawn Calls Experience
'Nightmare'
Monday , July 09, 2007
Associated Press and Fox
News

A 70-year-old Utah woman, who was arrested last week for
refusing to accept
a ticket for a dry lawn she couldn't afford to water,
told FOX News Monday that
the arrest was her "worst nightmare."
Betty
Perry, of Orem, Utah, was
arrested Friday after police tried to ticket her
for her brown, sickly
lawn.
"It was horrible," Perry told FOX News,
describing her arrest. "It was
like your worst nightmare."
The police
officer who arrested her has been
suspended by his red-faced
bosses.
"Life is a learning experience, and each
officer learns over the
course of a career that tactics and responses are not
absolute in each
situation," said Lt. Doug Edwards, a spokesman for Orem
police.
When the
officer knocked on Perry's door, she refused to identify herself
or accept a
citation and said she wanted to call her son.
As the officer tried to take
her hand, Perry tripped on the front step, cut
the bridge of her nose and
rolled onto her stomach, putting her hands under her
to foil the officer,
Edwards said.
Perry was eventually handcuffed and taken
to jail, where
she spent more than an hour before officials decided custody was
inappropriate.
The woman hasn't watered her lawn in a year, a violation
of a
city ordinance, Edwards said.
"I've never been attacked before like
that,"
Perry told KSL-TV. "I can't afford to turn my water on for $50 a
month. ... I
just hope he can apologize and this can all be
forgotten."
The officer's name
was not released. Orem is in Utah County,
30 miles south of Salt Lake
City.
"There were other options available to
handle this situation besides
making an arrest and holding the woman in
jail," Edwards said.
"Certainly had
the woman been a shoplifter at the
mall who refused to identify herself, no one
would question or be surprised
that she was arrested and handcuffed, regardless
of her age," he
said.

I am usually a huge support of Law Enforcement, and I do understand that sometimes officers make mistakes, but wow. This guy went way above and beyond. Perhaps he missed the fact that yard watering might not be an arresting offence. I would hate to see what this guy would do if he saw a dog watering a city lawn somewhere. Would he cuff the dog? Maybe taser it.

Understand your rights, because I love the rule of law. I especially love the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Even though sometimes I really dislike the ACLU, they do keep us all honest.

Here is a video by the ACLU to check out.

I may not like what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.