Comments on: Be sure to water your lawn in Orem, Utah!

by: citizen

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:06:55 +0000

I think the city of orem is getting a bad reputation. I know of a person who lives in orem who was issued a citation not a warning but a citation for having is stereo too loud in an apartment. I know of a person who was given a only a warning for his dogs barking too loud at 1am. The citation for the stereo being too loud was in the afternoon. Its like the lady with the lawn. Is the city of Orem desperate for money or are they bored. Wow if it was me I would move somewhere other than Orem Utah. Besides it has a sign right by UVSC which says something like welcome to Family friendly Orem. Come on city of Orem live up to your reputation respect the elderly more.

by: Mike

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:55:24 +0000

Total BS from that cop’s comment! Back in the 50’s a cop was a friend. He would simply have asked granny to water her lawn, or better yet, would have offered to help her do it. The cop did have a choice. He chose brutality over common sense! When all of the serious crimes (rape, murder, theft, etc.) are gone, then spend time worrying about granny. Cops need to remember, like they used to, that they are public servants, not public abusers. Too much power, too little guidance, too many laws, no common sense.

by: Ben

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:37:51 +0000

What happened to the 4th amendment protection. Giving your name is considered a seizure and Terry Stops only apply to public place stops. She was in her private residence and was not committing a misdemeanor or a felony (simply an admisitrative infraction) therefore she was protected by the 4th amendment and her refusal to give her name was also protected. Utah’s Stop-and-identify law only applies to public places which the interior of her house the curtilage around the house are not considered public so Utah’s law would not apply and any attempt to force her to give her name would be an illegal seizure under the 4th Amendment. Can’t believe no one cares about people’s rights within their own homes not to mention the absurdity of the specific ordinance.

by: JTM

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:57:42 +0000

I think the state should set up a fund for the poor and elderly to aid them on their water bills. Why should they have to pay to water their lawns. There are plenty of rich people that can pay that for her. How unjust to ask of some downtrodden person to pay for anything loke that.

by: mjargrandma

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:33:41 +0000

This is ridiculous - if it were my house I would plunk my 70 year old butt in a bikini in the lawn chair in front of door in picture with a hose in one hand - wasting water!

by: Anna

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:41:44 +0000

Just looked at the water bill from last month…it actually tripled - and I didn’t water it every day!

by: Anna

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:39:07 +0000

I think the whole thing is ridiculous. Yes, granny should have just given her name, but did the officer really think she was going to skip town? Come on, she’s 70 years old, for goodness sakes. Why couldn’t he just write her the ticket, put it in her door and be done with it? What does he do if people aren’t home? Hunt them down at their workplace? I can see Michelle’s perspective on a person who is speeding on the highway, but this old woman was putting noone in danger, and that’s the fact. The officer should be reprimanded publicly. And as for the law on watering lawns, is the city, county or town paying the water bill? Watering a lawn every day can rack up a good water bill - mine nearly doubled last month from trying to keep my lawn green when I finally decided to just let nature take it’s course. This woman is a 70 year-old widow, probably living on a small pension or social security. Our government is going to hell in a handbasket, people. Absolutely absurd!!!

by: kc

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:15:05 +0000

Am I the only one who thinks that Utah weather played a big part in this? Last time I checked, it was dry as heck out there. I don’t think it’s a reasonable use of resources to keep arid-climate lawns green 100% of the time.

by: Administrator

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:02:16 +0000

Michelle, I’m sure you’re probably right.

I still think it’s a funny story though.

Thanks for the comment from a police officer’s perspective!

by: Michelle

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:18:30 +0000

I am a police officer and I would like to offer a different perspective on the altercation with the granny who refused to water her lawn. That officer had no choice but to arrest her. All she had to do was identify herself and take the citation. It doesn’t mean she is guilty. Remember innocent until proven guilty. Court is the proper place to dispute the citation. She can have her lawyer and her son with her to defend her case.

There would be no law and order in our beautiful America if we let everyone who commits a crime, be it a felony, misdemeanor, or simple forfeiture slam the door in our face and refuse to identify themselves to law enforcement.

How do you think a police officer would react if “Joe Citizen” got pulled over for a traffic infraction, refused to identify himself because you wanted a lawyer present, then sped off? Do you think that officer would just return to his squad and go find someone else to stop? Not a chance, now Joe Citizen just increased the violation to a felony by taking off.

It is unfortunate that granny got injured and I don’t know exactly how the whole call went, however it could have all been avoided if she would not have resisted the officer. Do you really think that officer went to that call hoping to wrestle with granny and was happy that she got injured? Give me a break! We all make choices and she made a bad choice and unfortunately learned a hard lesson.