Meridian woman on playground arrest fallout: 'Not going to plead guilty for being a mom'

MERIDIAN, Idaho (CBS2) — It has been just over a year since Sara Walton Brady was arrested at a Meridian park for violating COVID-19 playground closure restrictions.

Video of the April 21 arrest went viral, and sparked protests at the park and Meridian City Hall that evening. In it, Walton Brady refused police orders to leave the playground area several times before being handcuffed and led to the officer's patrol car. She later issued a public apology to that officer, but the Meridian mother of four still maintains she did nothing wrong, and that she was standing in an open area of the park.

She spoke with CBS2's Deni Hawkins in an interview discussing what's happened since that now fateful afternoon, and what's next for her and her family. (WATCH FULL VIDEO ABOVE).

One Year Later

One year later, Walton Brady is still dealing with the legal fallout. She's facing a misdemeanor trespassing charge, and plans to fight it in court. But court hearings have been delayed because of the pandemic, and the Meridian mother argues her right to a speedy trial is being violated.

Walton Brady says she has brought her children back to Meridian's Kleiner Park several times since the arrest. At first, she says her kids were uneasy, asking if she'd get arrested again for being there. Now, she says it's become normal again. Despite everything that happened in the aftermath, Walton Brady says she doesn't regret being there that afternoon in April 2020.

"I don't regret taking my kids to the playground," she said. "The park was open. It was the playground equipment that officers told us was closed, and I never touched it once. I never prevented officers from taping it back up. I mean, if I had a do-over...if I had known this was going to go mega-viral, I maybe would have paused for a second and then tried to engage with the officer. But I think that at that point, you start counting down to a mother at a playground and it’s pretty disrespectful."

In video of the arrest, a Meridian Police officer is seen asking Walton Brady and others to leave the playground area multiple times. Eventually, he begins counting down from 'five,' at which point Walton Brady turns around, telling the officer to arrest her.

The Meridian woman issued a public apology to that officer weeks after the incident, citing stress and a lack of sleep (among other factors) in the hours and days leading up to the incident. She also said she wishes he would have approached and handled the situation differently in that moment. She called his response 'gruff,' and said it lacked proper judgment given the circumstances. The two haven't spoken since the arrest, but Walton Brady says she holds no ill-will toward him and would be open to a conversation.

Family Impact

Walton Brady is familiar with the workings of law enforcement. Her husband is a Boise Police officer. When asked how the situation has impacted him, Walton Brady referred primarily to the familial stress of her ongoing legal battle.

"That has been really stressful on our family because it's just time-consuming," she said. "I'm now on my third lawyer, I've had status hearing after status hearing, and it hasn't moved forward at least to the point of setting a trial."

She also says the incident has prompted a series of conversations with her children, some of whom were present at the time of the arrest.

The Takeaways

While Walton Brady maintains that what happened at the Kleiner Park playground that day was not a protest. She says she was disappointed to see the division it sparked among so many in the community.

She says she -- like everyone else -- has learned a lot over the course of the pandemic. She admits she didn't take the COVID-19 pandemic or precautions very seriously at that point in time, given what friends had gone through in battling the virus. Instead, she says she was focused more on her children's mental health.

"I think in that moment it was just a mom taking their kids to a playground," she said. "But that doesn't make us criminals, and we shouldn't be treated that way.

Walton Brady says the experience (and the months that followed) have helped her develop patience and understanding.

"I think humans are fallible," she said. "I think the government is made up of humans who are fallible as well. But if we feel like something is happening that we feel is either unfair or an injustice we should stand up when we feel like something happening isn't right."

'Not going to plead guilty for being a mom'

Ultimately, it will be up to a jury to determine whether Walton Brady is guilty or innocent of trespassing.

"I hope to be found not guilty, honestly," she said. "But, at the end of the day, if I’m found guilty, they don’t know enough about the case, being as I was standing on wood chips, was never touching a closed portion of the park."

"You know, this kind of thing was just about showing an example that if you truly believe something you stand for something and you carry it out all the way. I think I’m setting an example for a lot of other moms out there that are fighting the same thing. So I’m not going to plead guilty for being a mom."

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