By AFP Staff
Is this really what the United States has come to? On April 21, 40-year-old mom Sara Brady was playing with her two children at a playground in Meridian, Idaho along with several other parents. Neighbors reportedly called the police on the families, claiming that the families were violating the state’s stay-at-home mandates. Video released to the Internet shows that, when a police officer arrived on the scene and ordered the families to go home, Brady objected. She was eventually arrested and charged with trespassing.
Local Meridian news station KTVB7 reported that a police spokesman told the station that the police received three separate phone calls about kids playing on the closed playground after someone removed signs and caution tape blocking it off.
In the video of the incident that has been posted to multiple video hosting sites including Youtube, police arrived and ordered the families to leave, telling them that the park was closed. Brady can be clearly heard arguing with the police officers, questioning why the playground was closed.
Eventually, the police arrest Brady in front of her children when she and the other families refuse to leave.
The full video of the incident can be watched below:
The left-wing media has called the families playing on the playground a “protest” of unconstitutional state orders brought about as a result of the global pandemic and that Brady went to the park to get arrested and make a scene, but others dispute that.
Later that evening, a group of parents gathered in front of the arresting officer’s home to protest his detention of the 40-year-old mom.
When asked specifically about the incident, Robert Simison, the mayor of Meridian, hedged, saying he wants citizens to be comfortable expressing their constitutional rights, but he is obliged to follow the Idaho governor’s orders to close public facilities.
As of April 23, the entire state of Idaho (population 1.8 million) has only had 1,766 cases of covid-19 and 51 deaths.
AFP called the mayor’s office to confirm how many Covid-19 cases there are in his town, but no one was available at the time to take the call. There were no details available if Meridian, population 107,000, has even had any confirmed cases of Covid-19. A phone number listed on the mayor’s website provides a way for citizens to report on others if they believe they are violating the state stay-at-home order.
Sick.
America land of the free.
Police state more like!
watch out for your nosy neighbors who have nothing better to do and who act like they are some sort of self righteous police
I noticed officer friendly was not wearing protective clothing.
what a care bear.