Michael Jennings filed a lawsuit Friday night against three officers and the central Alabama city of Childersburg, asking for a jury trial and asking for an unspecified amount of money. Jennings’ attorneys held a press conference outside the federal courthouse in Birmingham on Saturday to discuss the lawsuit, and the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and other groups planned a rally afterward in a downtown park. “I’m here for accountability and I’m here for justice,” Jennings said at the press conference. The lawsuit alleged the actions of officers Christopher Smith and Justin Gable, Sgt. Jeremy Brooks and the city violated rights by protecting against illegal arrest and ensuring free speech. She reported several ongoing problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder and humiliation. Childersburg City Attorney Regan Ramsey did not respond to an email seeking comment. Jennings, 56, was arrested in May after a white neighbor called 911 to say a “younger black male” and a gold SUV were at a home while the owners – who are friends of Jennings and had asked him to watch out for their home – they were missing. Jennings identified himself as “Pastor Jennings” but refused to provide identification to officers, who arrested him on charges of obstructing government business after a 20-minute standoff that included loud shouting from both sides. Filed in municipal court, the charge was dismissed within days at the request of the then police chief. Jennings’ lawyers last month released police body camera footage obtained following a records request in the city, which is 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of Birmingham. Bernard Simelton, president of the NAACP’s Alabama chapter, said the officers who arrested Jennings did “so many things” that were inconsistent with good community policing tactics. “These poor judgment calls reflect poorly on the type of training Childersburg police officers receive … if they were acting within police guidelines,” Simelton said in a statement. While Jennings could have filed a claim against the city seeking damages, attorney Harry Daniels said he didn’t because the arrest was within the statutory time frame for filing a lawsuit.
