82-year-old Alabama woman arrested after she failed to pay the trash bill, police say

An 82-year-old woman in Alabama was arrested this week after failing to pay her delinquent trash bill, authorities said.

Martha Louis Menefield, of Valley, was arrested Sunday and then released on bond, according to a Tuesday statement from Valley Police Chief Mike Reynolds that was posted on the city’s Facebook page.

Menefield was issued a citation in August by city code enforcement officers in Valley, about 80 miles northeast of Montgomery, for failing to pay for trash services in the months of June, July and August.

Code enforcement officers tried to call Menefield several times and attempted to contact her at her home, the statement said.

“When contact could not be made, a door hanger was left at her residence,” the statement said. “The hanger contained information on the reason for the visit and a name and contact phone number for her to call. The citation advised Ms. Menefield that she was to appear in court on September 7, 2022, in reference to this case.”

When Menefield failed to appear in court, a warrant for “Failure to Pay-Trash” was issued, the statement said.

Menefield has a history of failing to pay her trash bill, according to Reynolds’ statement.

Her trash services were suspended three times in the past two years, and there have been more than 22 incidents of suspensions and revocations of trash services since 2006, the statement said.

Reynolds said the police department was mandated to arrest Menefield.

“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 said in the statement.

“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.”

Menefield could not immediately be reached for comment by NBC News.

Commenters on the city’s Facebook page were outraged by the arrest of an elderly citizen.

One commenter wrote: “That is a seriously disgusting and hateful thing to do. What a shame officials think that this is okay.”