Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has signed legislation making it a crime to knowingly approach within 25 feet of a police officer while they are “engaged in law enforcement duties” after the officer has ordered the person to stay back.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15978798

Critics of a new Louisiana law, which makes it a crime to approach within 25 feet (7.6 meters) of a police officer under certain circumstances, fear that the measure could hinder the public’s ability to film officers — a tool that has increasingly been used to hold police accountable.

Under the law, anyone who is convicted of “knowingly or intentionally” approaching an officer, who is “lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties,” and after being ordered to “stop approaching or retreat” faces up to a $500 fine, up to 60 days in jail or both. The law was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, Tuesday and goes into effect Aug. 1.

While the legislation’s language does not specifically mention filming, critics say that by default it would limit how close a person can be to observe police. Opponents have also gone further to question the law’s constitutionality, saying it could impede on a person’s First Amendment rights.

  • bazus1@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    6 months ago

    Lately, it’s seems that you can take new Louisiana legislation, take the inverse of it, and have something that could pretty easily pass in the Northeast.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    2·
    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Jeff Landry signed into law Tuesday, fear the measure could hinder the public’s ability to film officers, which has increasingly been used to hold police accountable — including in high profile cases, such as the killing of George Floyd.

    “This is part of our continued pledge to address public safety in this state,” Landry, who has a law enforcement background, said during the bill signing.

    Author of the legislation state Rep. Bryan Fontenot, like his fellow Republican lawmakers, said the new law provides officers “peace of mind and safe distance to do their job.”

    “The twenty-five-foot buffer legislation fundamentally seeks to curtail Louisianians’ ability to hold police accountable for violence and misconduct,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana said in a statement Tuesday.

    “At 25 feet, that person can’t spit in my face when I’m making an arrest,” state Rep. Fontenot said while presenting his bill in a committee earlier this year.

    Language in the measure appears to put in some safety nets, stating that an acceptable “defense to this crime” includes establishing that the “lawful order or command was neither received nor understood by the defendant.”

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