I saw a Facebook post from Donut Operator today after he shared a post from the City of Valley, Alabama’s official page. The post was a message from Valley Police Chief Mike Reynolds. The post confirms the incident and states that Martha Menefield, 82 years old, was “treated respectfully” but then goes on to state that Officers’ have no discretion when executing an arrest order signed by a judge. The Chief does detail a pattern of Ms. Menefield’s trash services being suspended due to non-payment, dating back to 2006. You can read the entire post below:

I’ve read several stories on the incident, and none of them describe her home as being overrun by garbage or a nuisance to her community. So my question is this: How exactly does the arrest of an 82-year-old woman for unpaid city services solve the problem? She’s not had to post a bond to be released from custody, and wouldn’t that money have been better spent on paying her overdue balance? Has the city taken any real steps to see what the problem is? It is possible that she’s living on a fixed income, which might prohibit her from paying the bill. Or maybe, she simply forgets. It happens.

In my opinion, the mayor, the chief of police, and the judge that signed the arrest warrant for such a petty (and largely civil) matter should all resign their positions. There are means outside the criminal justice system to resolve code enforcement-type matters that should be utilized. Why don’t we save law enforcement resources, which are stretched thin across the country, to focus on those who are actually victimizing others? I don’t quite jump full tilt on the Libertarian bandwagon of “no victim, no crime,” but in this case, I will make an exception.

At the end of the day, we should expect leadership from offices titled “mayor,” “chief,” “governor,” etc. Simon Sinek says it impeccably:

Leadership is not a rank or a position, it is a choice – a choice to look after the person to the left of us & the person to the right of us

– Simon Sinek

This idea is something we should all take with us to the voting booth. Too often, we see politicians strictly filling these roles, few of whom possess real leadership qualities. We should expect more from our elected officials, and arresting an elderly woman for not paying her trash bill, is not leadership.