Betty Perry is a 70-year-old widow and great-grandmother living in Orem, Utah. Without warning, she was arrested on July 6, 2007. As reported by CNN.com, during the arrest, which included handcuffing the senior citizen, Perry’s nose was cut open and her knees and hands were scraped. She was then thrown in jail, where she remained for over an hour before being released.
Her crime: Failure to water her lawn and resisting arrest.
Mrs. Perry said she was “distraught” after the incident. And that is putting it mildly. It turns out that the city has a zoning ordinance that prohibits unsightly or brown grass (at least in her neighborhood).
An officer began writing her a ticket, and she started to go back into her house and refused to give her name. With that response, the officer handcuffed the great-grandmother and hauled her to jail.
When the officer’s superiors learned of this new inmate, with no prior record of any kind, she was released and assured that no charged would be filed. The officer was sent home for the day, and an investigation was conducted. The officer was cleared of any wrongdoing. Months later, however, Betty Perry is facing charges for failing to maintain her landscaping and for resisting arrest, both of which are misdemeanors.
A high-profile Los Angeles attorney, Gloria Allred, has accepted Betty Perry’s cause. Recently Betty entered a not guilty plea. “You cannot arrest somebody because their grass is brown,” Perry says. “That’s the most unconstitutional thing.” A trial is set for Feb. 11, 2008.
For additional information, see the following sites:
Michelle Diament, “What An Outrage!” AARP Bulletin (November 2007), 6.
70-year-old Woman Arrested for Brown Lawn
http://shadmia.com/2007/09/19/70-year-old-woman-arrested-for-brown-lawn/
Betty Perry – A Lawn unto herself
http://shazgood.wordpress.com/2007/09/19/betty-perry-a-lawn-unto-herself/
Bloodied 70-year-old woman cuffed for having a brown lawn
http://sluggabohn.wordpress.com/2007/09/19/bloodied-70-year-old-woman-cuffed-for-having-a-brown-lawn/
Woman Arrested for Not Watering Lawn (KSL TV News-Radio 7/6/2007)
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=1444771&nid=148
Bloody nose for having a dry lawn (Salt Lake Tribune 7/7/2007)
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6319911
‘Lawn’ officer is cleared in Orem (Deseret Morning News 8/21/2007)
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695202751,00.html
Woman Pleads Not Guilty in Lawn Case (Newsvine.com 9/18/2007)
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/09/18/970603-woman-pleads-not-guilty-in-lawn-case
Woman pleads not guilty in lawn case (Albany, NY Times Union 9/18/2007)
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=604724&category=Strange%20News&BCCode=STRANGENEWS&newsdate=9/18/2007
Great-grandma Betty pleads innocent to resisting arrest over dead grass (Salt Lake Tribune 9/19/2007)
http://mebird.newsvine.com/_news/2007/09/19/971938-great-grandma-betty-pleads-innocent-to-resisting-arrest-over-dead-grass
70-Year Old Bruised & Bloodied Grandma Arrested for Not Watering Her Lawn (CNN.com 9/20/2007)
http://prompt.newsvine.com/_news/2007/09/20/973652-70-year-old-bruised-bloodied-grandma-arrested-for-not-watering-her-lawn
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