Deseret News | Defense grows in Orem lawn case

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Defense grows in Orem lawn case

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lefty | 4:29 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

You mean brown grass is against the law?? I would put a video camera on every city official's lawn and check for brown spots!! How many blades have to be green under that law?? LMAO

A Grandson | 6:37 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I think the City of Orem is makeing a serious mistake by going after Betty Perry. The best thing Orem Police can do is drop the charges and hope people forget what they did. They obviously do not have much common sense.

Social Worker | 6:50 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Another great moment in American police history. Is anyone else getting tired of reading stories about grandmothers/children/disabled/harmless people getting worked over by the police when there are still murders, rapes, kidnappings and violent crime happening?

It's time the police departments got external oversight comittees and some extra training. Compare this to the kid getting tasered this week.

Viva la America, eh?

Comments continue below

John Purnell | 7:01 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

POLICE never should have been involved in any level of enforcement of misguided laws requiring upkeep of lawns. Our personal rights as property owners are being steadily eroded in exchange for laws and restrictive covenants. We should be far more protective of our own liberties, and not prioritize home values as the undisputed TOP priority. I won't exchange my personal liberties for home value. If someone wants a dead lawn for their own property SO BE IT! What ever happened to our country based on the value of the individual? These types of laws would be warmly embraced in CHINA, where individual rights and liberties are constantly sacrificed for the "common good". Is this the direction we want to be headed as a community and nation? I don't think so. This is a wonderful wake-up call! Let's LISTEN TO IT & LEARN FROM IT!

Doug | 7:08 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

It is known this lady has money. She has a BMW in the garage, travels for plessure to Europe often and has plenty of funds to take care of her lawn and turn her water on. She has a history of milking the system.
It is unfortunate that it has come to this. Arrested for not giving a name and turning her back on an officer over a lawn is silly. Should have just let her go inside her house after she chose to be rude and not comply and then a fine sent to her house if she didn't take care of the yard.
This is a case of pride and tempers flared.

Concerned Citizen | 7:11 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Thank you Orem for showing us the folly of being "commanded in all things"!

Bimmer Drivin Globe-trotter | 7:18 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Well, I know would rather drive my BMW and travel to Europe than water my lawn! Too bad its illegal in OREM!

Kim Bean | 7:34 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

One more reason for my decision to leave the GREAT state of Utah. I'm susprised she was not tasered. O yes, there is live in abundance outside of "Zion".

Kia | 7:37 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in a criminal case, isn't the prosecution's job to represent "The People"? From what I've heard, and read in these forums, "The People" are outraged and can't believe this has happened, or that the court case is continuing. The prosecution doesn't seem to be representing the desires of the majority of their own clients this time around. Does anyone know what needs to be done to get the voice of The People heard by those who have sworn to represent us?

Stephen Mattice | 7:41 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Oh MY GOSH!!!!! Now it's a criminal offense to have a dead lawn? What is this country coming to? What ever happened to private property rights? The constitution IS hanging by a thread.

Shaun McC | 7:55 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

This is the mentality we seem to have come to. City officials, including police are there to control us and make us do whatever will increase our neighbors property value. They are not there to protect and serve. It changes the relationship from one of trust and community to one of antagonism and fear. I guess that's what we want - we voted for the people in charge.

Nielson | 8:01 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

You people need to all get lives, and for you little bean I am personally glad that this has driven you over the edge. Please, by all means, leave Utah, because I'm sure you will find it so much better in another state. Just to let you people know there are a lot of cities that have ordinances against not watering your lawn, some choose to vigorously pursue people that disobey, some don't. But if they do choose to pursue offenders then they certainly have to punish everyone that is breaking the rule, not just certain people that meet age, gender, and race guidelines, that is against the law. I'm almost positive that nobody would even care if this was happening to some poor ethnic minority. So please hold judgement until you know how the law works and what you are talking about. Because I can assure you that it is the same in every other state.

Doug S | 8:02 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Does the OREM Police really want CNN camping outside their door. This just adds to their reputation of being backward idiots.

Ned | 8:02 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

What with all we keep hearing about the drought conditions in Utah, I would think she might be lauded for water conservation instead of fined for having a dead lawn. If the city is really interested in preserving a well-kept appearance, maybe they should consider some tax breaks or subsidy programs to help citizens for whom a green lawn is not a top priority instead of arresting them. Give them some landscaping incentive and help to install a drought tolerant, low maintenance alternative. Maybe they already have them, in which case they apparently need to do a better job marketing the option. They could have sent her a letter to inform her that the yard wasn't on par with city ordinances, and laying out some options and what kind of help she could expect to qualify for. I expect a proactive approach to such a nitpicking thing would get much better results than handcuffs.

enjoy | 8:04 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Goodby Kim Bean. Enjoy your live (sic) in another state.

Bart | 8:06 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

What a hoot. This story is so, so, so, charming.

AW | 8:15 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Had she just given her name to the police officer, none of this would have happened. When does being 70 give you a free pass to diregard police officers?
Gloria Allred is just here to promote Gloria Allred.

Lyman DeKoquonut | 8:17 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

"Does the OREM Police really want CNN camping outside their door. This just adds to their reputation of being backward idiots."

What did they arrest you for?

Just Desserts | 8:22 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I think we should all have dirt lawns, or better yet, dead patches of weeds everywhere. That would look great!

Also, if someone refuses to identify themselves and attempts to flee the police, the police should just say "Oh well" and walk away.

K.D. Smith | 8:43 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Hey A.W.
As Ms. Allred has asked, would you like your grandmother to be roughed up and publicly humiliated by the city of Orem?
Gee, what a "Macho Man" this police officer must consider himself..taking on Mrs. Perry all by himself.
Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that Attorney, Andrew Peterson is simply trying to save face?
Ms. Allred tagged Orem perfectly...Orem has dignified itself as the laughing stock of the nation.
What a bunch of gutless coward the Orem P.D. and the Orem city attorney's office are showing themselves to be.

Carl Spackler | 8:46 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Those who support arrest more than likely have nicely kept yards.
Those that complain probably do not.
Typically people who don't take care of their yard have hygiene issues as well. The law usually won't change that, but therapy might.
Most states have these laws. Get out and petition that these laws don't get passed. Don't vote for city reps who support these laws if you don't like them. I would guess most of the complainers don't vote either.
This woman said she was too poor to take care of her yard, yet we know that to be untrue. The lawn isn't just brown, but completely dead. You would think it was abandoned. If there weren't laws like this in place, entire neighborhoods would look abandoned.

OM | 8:49 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

How is lawn upkeep the business of anyone other than the property owner? Aren't there enough real criminals to deal with? Besides, we should be conserving resources, not wasting them on perfectly manicured lawns. We need to get back to the basics in our country and remember how things are supposed to work. It's "We, the people" not "We, the police state."

rehun | 8:59 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I can't believe Orem is that stupid. Are the city attorneys that hard up for work that they are really pursuing this?? Dumb and Dumber.

Are you kidding? | 9:15 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

In this case, yes they should have. how effectively do you think a 70 year old lady could 'flee' the police? From the versions that I read, she was trying to go back inside her house to make sense of things and the cops cuffed her, at which point she fell and cut her nose. Additionally, a better way to handle the situation would have been for the police to walk away, get her name from the property registration for that address and send a citation for whatever by-law she violated. The police should only be arresting people if a violation of the criminal code was committed, not some stupid by-law saying that you have to water your lawn. Whether or not she chose to be difficult with the police, this is outrageous and it is harrassment. I wouldn't be surprised if she were able to pursue a lawsuit against the Orem police dept.

Stan | 9:16 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Yes, police should just focus on ALL the murderers and rapists in Orem Utah.
Forget those who do little crimes like speeding, graffiti, petty theft. In fact, don't even pull over if a cop is requesting it. They should be doing "more important" things. How dare they??
Everyone should do what they want, how they want, because the police should only focus on the killers.
So silly. You must not live in Orem. Go to Detroit if that's how you want your "brutal, old lady beating police" to work. You'll be happy I'm sure.

randy | 9:20 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

This is not about her lawn. This is about her not subjecting herself to the will of a police officer.
Every time an officer asks a question they feel they have the RIGHT to an answer, whether they do or not.
This is about a cop putting his ego in the forefront and abusing his badge to sooth his wounded pride, imagine this old lady thinking she does not have to answer his questions..

Lindsay | 9:20 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

What this article doesn't mention, which I've read elsewhere, is that this lady was getting water from the neighbors so she could flush her toilet. You are not supposed to be using the sewage system unless you are paying for it. So she's refusing to do any upkeep on her yard, making it look trashy and letting her neighbors property values go down by association, and she's using the city's pipes and not paying for it.

Just because you are old doesn't mean you get a free ride. If she can't afford the water, she should talk to her neighbors. They are probably willing to pitch in to keep her yard from looking so awful.

dave a tourist | 9:24 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

and past resident.
The prosecuting side is clearly in a turf battle (pun intended), andclearly an ego battle. This is clearly not about rule of law, fairness, etc.

You sorry public servants need to go do something more useful.

If this is the kind of "crime" Orem has to deal with, then reduce the size of the police dept, your community is in great shape otherwise.

CB | 9:30 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

These actions are not about being dumb or stupid. It is about abuse of power, and only those in power will defend these actions. It is also frightening. This officer(?) should be fired before this happens again to someone else, and believe me with guys like this, it will happen again. Perhaps a quick trigger next time?

me | 9:30 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I am not surprised that this has happened the courts and police seem to be looking to punish for very stupid things and waste tax payers money on dead grass....Yet we have a majority of people without health care our elderly are struggling to get by on very little social security (obviously not able to eat and water grass) Where is the respect for our elderly? Why was the police officer enforcing an ordinance violation?? In my town we get a fine for violating an ordinance code...this just shows that if you dont water your grass your going to jail but if you grow your weed (then sell it) your still free! Backwards system I think!!

swrl | 9:34 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Another case of CYA, thinking that they have to prosecute to avoid liability. What will happen when Global Warming becomes apparent and there is no water for cosmetics

DCnTN | 9:35 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I think it's sad that prosecutors are so proud of the fact that they determined to enforce the letter of the law with no regard to the logic of the situation.

Here's a hint. You are being ridiculed not because of bad PR, it was bad policing. Why not call it a draw and concede "our officer handled this really badly, so to make things just, fair and equitable we aren't going to prosecute grandma."

I wonder how much money this whole fiasco has cost?

joe | 9:39 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Can you say "poor judgement" ! Probably poor police training or character flaw in the individual such that he shouldn't be in law enforcement.

Jf | 9:42 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Stan where have you lived in your life. We are talking about lawns here. Its not the cops lawn nor the cities, but hers.

This cop has to much time on his hand. Should people live by the spirit of the law or by the word of the law. Think about it Stan and gain some wisdom.

We should maike a law where in cops are banned from donut shop. That would make mores sense then to arrest an old lady from not watering her lawn.

joeh | 9:45 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

This whole thing could have been handled much more intelligently and civilly. When the woman wanted to call her son and get his advise, why didn't the police officer just let her? If she refused to give her name, why didn't the police officer just find out what it was? It's not that hard to do. The police officer should have walked away, issued the woman a citation and let the City pursue it in court from there. There was no need to arrest her at that point. This wasn't some wanted fugitive. Police officers reutinely back off situations that become too heated and let things cool down. Orem City should let it go and hope she will.

Run over by the bandwagon... | 9:48 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Get real, people. She wasn't arrested for having brown lawn. She was being given a citation for that. She was arrested for being arrogantly uncooperative with a police officer. Just because it's a "minor" infraction, doesn't give someone the right to act like she did.

If I acted like that, I would expect to be hauled off to jail.

If this was a gang house, you people would be singing a different tune. "Yea, put the punk in jail for dissing the cop!" Since when do we make exceptions to the law, just because you're over 65?

To Karl | 9:56 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Mr. Spacker
I'm not calling you a liar just inferring it.
I was just wondering if you could cite the study that correlates Hygiene with Lawn Care. Wow, what professor undertook that study. Dr. True-Green or was it Dr. Snapper?
This case is a constitutional lawyers dream.
I hope they do find her guilty so on appeal the court will finally put an end to this socialist behaivior by ignorant city counsel.
And seriously Hygiene?
Well you know what I heard. Socialist are more likely to wear ugly clothes. Its science!

Hygiene | 10:03 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Thats great Hygiene. I couldn't stop laughing. You know that should be a law too. I am sick and tired of people not wearing deodorant or showering. Its ridiculous and its killing my property value. I think we could justify it under the interstate commerce clause. Plus there was a study done at the University of Crest-Right Guard- and listerine that said that people with bad hygiene eat puppies.

Todd | 10:05 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

This doesn't surprise me at all...have we all forgotten about overzealous city attorneys just trying to further their own careers by prosecuting all the dumb cases just to prove a point. I seem to remember a attorney in the Duke case doing the same dang thing. Everyone call the Orem city offices and complain about the stupidity of this situation.

Steve | 10:30 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

My town is just the opposite. If you are watering your lawn you get into trouble. But I guess if you live in Orem, Utah, you deal with stupidity. What this sounds like is that Orem is penalizing this grandmother because of a drought turned her lawn brown. But it is probably the extra CO2 emissions being released into the air by pumps that control the water system which causes global warming and droughts which caused her lawn to go brown.

jsw | 10:40 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I am shocked that this happened. The police officer handled this situation poorly. When she refused to give her name and tryed to return to her home she should have been allowed to do so. He could have gotten her name through public records and a citation could have been issued in this manner. How the police department could feel that the officer was justified in grabbing a 70 year old womens arm, knocking her to the ground and handcuffing her and then putting her in jail because of a dead lawn is just absurd. There is no justification for these actions. I could care less how rude or non compliant he felt she was, "for heavens sake she's 70 yrs. old". The crime did not fit the punishment. Poor judgement was used on behalf of the officer. The officer and police dept. should acknowledge this and just move forward.

Anonymous | 10:53 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I'm trying to find some logic in all this.... but there is none! Maybe it was a proud cop that acted by impulse when the lady was rude? And then the Orem PD backed him up (huge mistake).

Brown in Boise | 11:13 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

As a former Orem resident, I hope there is a lot more to this story. After a scorching summer, my lawn is much less than perfect. While Idaho is now known for an arrested senator caught making an indecent proposal---hopefully we would never become known for arresting an elderly woman for simply letting her yard go. Holier than thou?

Cayce | 11:30 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Let's see,

Police let her go after 30 minutes. That SAYS A WHOLE LOT. They knew they goofed.

Now the Prosecuting attorney says they don't care about public opinion. Yep. Le Miz. The law is the law, no room for mercy, no room for reason.

Hey, Pros. ATTNY, you'd better care what the public outcry is, because you work for us! And you'd better keep the people somewhat happy, you have to deal with us daily! You may be out a job if we think you are a complete idiot. And from your comments, you're well on your way!

CB | 11:30 a.m. Sept. 19, 2007

Dumb and Dumber seems to fit this case perfectly.
Should have left well enough alone, now, as it as been
stated they will be dealing with the national media
and this is going to cost them big time in dollars
and time. What real time crime will take place because they are dealing with a stupid dead lawn?
Small town, small minds.

Bob Barker | 12:01 p.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I know Paige Benjamin and he is a solid attorney. I hope they sue the pants off of the city of Orem! Shame on them for treating Ms. Perry like that!

Sam | 12:33 p.m. Sept. 19, 2007

She didn't get arrested for having a dead lawn.
She was going to be given a citation for not adhering to a city ordinance of keep your yard presentable.
Clearly she was hard headed. She resisted the citation and was going to evade the officer by going in the house after she gave a wrong name and then wouldn't give her name while he was trying to give her the citation. Try doing that when getting a speeding ticket. The officer made the mistake of trying to grab her arm and arrest her and she slipped and hit her face on the door. The officer should have just let her go, but didn't.
So again, not being arrested for a dead lawn, so lets drop that argument.

Spin it how you want... | 12:34 p.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I love reading how you all spin the story to fit your own argument. The situation is pretty straight forward, yet once again we have an apparently ignorant public who complains and moans after completely "spinning" the story for what really happened.

It's pretty simple:
1. Officer arrives to cite her for lawn (good/bad law is a whole other topic).
2. Lady won't cooperate and decides she's going to do her own thing and walks away.
3. Police arrests lady for being uncooperative (NOT for having a brown lawn!).
Those are the facts.

Obviously you people have completely ignored the facts in your arguments such as: "She was arrested for having a brown lawn!!". Please, present yourself to be a bit more intelligent than that and think about what youï¿½re reading before opening your mouth.

The informed should try arguing around the facts of the situation, not your interpretation of what happened.

veedub | 12:38 p.m. Sept. 19, 2007

I wasn't surprised when I heard about this incident. Here in Utah Valley, Orem police have a reputation of being arrogant, overbearing, and on more than one occasion, abusive.

Buzzard | 12:52 p.m. Sept. 19, 2007

While the wisdom of having sworn officers do code enforcement is questionable, the real issue, the one that everyone is ignoring, is that the lady turned and tried to reenter her home where she would be out of the officers sight. Every cop in the world is trained to keep the subject-and his/her hands- in sight at all times. Officers have and will die because they did not do this. For all the officer knew, she was going to get a gun. And yes, police officers have been shot by 70 year old ladies. And no, I am not a cop.

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