82-year-old arrested for unpaid trash bills, and Alabama cops get slammed. ‘Disgusting’
.jpg "“I would be ashamed to post this,” one of the hundreds of commenters told the police.")
An 82-year-old woman was arrested after failing to pay her trash fees, Alabama police said.
Members of her community are lashing out.
The woman, a resident of Valley, was taken into custody on Nov. 27, according to a news release from Valley Police. She was arrested on a charge of failure to pay trash, which officials say has been an ongoing problem with the woman for years..
The woman, according to Environmental Services, “has had her trash services suspended three times in the past two years for non-payment and records indicate that there have been over twenty-two incidents of suspensions and revocation of services since 2006,” police said..
Despite the explanation, hundreds of people voiced their disapproval in the comments of the police’s statement on Facebook.
“I would be ashamed to post this,” one commenter said. “I would be ashamed to even have a part in it.”
“This is absolutely the most outrageous violation of public trust and basic decency I’ve seen in a very long time,” another said.
The woman got non-payment citations for trash fees in June, July and August, according to the release. After multiple attempts to contact the woman through mail, phone calls and door hangers stating she must appear in court, she failed to appear at her Sept. 7 court date, resulting in an arrest warrant, the release said.
The police department added that while officers may use “discretionary judgment” on certain matters, the arrest warrant was issued by the court and signed by the magistrate.
The woman “was treated respectfully by our officers in the performance of their duties and was released on a bond as prescribed by the violation,” the release said.
Some community members offered to help pay her trash bill moving forward.
Valley is about 80 miles northeast of Montgomery.
This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 5:26 PM with the headline "82-year-old arrested for unpaid trash bills, and Alabama cops get slammed. ‘Disgusting’."
