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A Black pastor who was arrested by white police officers while watering the flowers of a neighbor who was out of town filed a federal lawsuit alleging the ordeal violated his constitutional rights and caused lingering problems including emotional distress and anxiety.
Michael Jennings filed the lawsuit Friday night against three officers and the central Alabama town of Childersburg requesting a jury trial and seeking an unspecified amount of money.
Jennings’ lawyers held a news conference outside the Birmingham federal courthouse on Saturday to discuss the lawsuit, and the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and other groups planned a rally afterward at a downtown park.
“I’m here for accountability, and I’m here for justice,” Jennings told the news conference.
The suit alleged the actions of Officers Christopher Smith and Justin Gable, Sgt.
