'I'm not joking': Alabama officer laughs while arresting 82-year-old woman for not paying $77 trash bill
VALLEY, ALABAMA: In a released body camera footage, the Alabama officer who arrested an 82-year-old elderly woman for not paying a $77 trash bill last month, can be heard laughing while placing her in handcuffs. Martha Menefield was taken into custody in late November for failing to pay a trash bill in the amount of $77.80.
“Ms. Menefield, we have a warrant for you,” the Valley officer told Martha Louis Menefield in a body camera video released by Valley Police Department, according to Law&Crime Network on Thursday, December 22. When asked about what the warrant was for, the officer responded, “not paying your trash bill." “So you’re going to handcuff me to take me to jail?” Menefield continued. “You’re arresting an 82-year-old woman." The officer responded: “I’m sorry, but the law’s the law, Ms Menefield."
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“I’m not joking,” said the responding officer as he laughs when the elderly woman asked to see the permit. “I’m serious, it’s a warrant,” he added.
According to court records, Menefield was charged for failing to pay the garbage service bill that covered the months of June, July, and August. She was arraigned with a misdemeanor offense of "failure to pay solid waste fees." According to the footage, Menefield got a letter from the city’s code enforcement a month earlier informing her that she hasn’t paid her bill.
Once the officer explained the charges to Menefield, she responded: "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, arresting an 82-year-old person." The officer replied with an "I'm so sorry," as he handcuffed her. "But the law is the law, Miss Menefield," he added. Menefield informed the officer that her daughter takes care of the trash bill. "My daughter takes care of that for me," she said. "I’d definitely try to get in contact with your daughter if I were you," the officer replied. "Because she done screwed you on this one."
The incident has garnered nationwide outrage. Valley Police Chief Mark Reynolds came forward to defend his officers in a social media post, claiming the department had no other variable than to handcuff Menefield after a magistrate signed off on her arrest. He also added that the 82-year-old woman "was treated respectfully by our officers in the performance of their duties." "While our officers can use their discretionary judgment on certain matters, the enforcement of an arrest warrant issued by the court and signed by a magistrate, is not one of them," Reynolds wrote in the Facebook post. "Ms. Menefield was treated respectfully by our officers in the performance of their duties and was released on a bond as prescribed by the violation."