Arizona is seemingly responding to the rising variety of filmed police encounters by signing a brand new regulation banning individuals from filming inside eight toes of police exercise.
On Wednesday, Washington Submit reviews that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed a invoice that makes it a misdemeanor offense to file police exercise at shut vary after officers have issued a verbal warning. Violators will face a misdemeanor cost and as much as 30 days in jail.
Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh sponsored the invoice and wrote an op-ed claiming the brand new regulation protects police towards distractions and potential hurt throughout violent encounters. Kavanagh famous the “hostile teams” police have complained about who allegedly harass officers by filming one to 2 toes behind them.
Kavanagh says it’s “a harmful apply that may finish in tragedy.”
“I can consider no motive why any accountable particular person would wish to return nearer than 8 toes to a police officer engaged in a hostile or doubtlessly hostile encounter. Such an method is unreasonable, pointless, and unsafe, and needs to be made unlawful,” Kavanagh wrote.
The Guardian notes some exceptions to the invoice, with all hope not being misplaced concerning police encounters in Arizona. The brand new regulation permits an individual to file if they’re the one being questioned by a police officer, if they’re an occupant in a automobile throughout a visitors cease, or if they’re in a construction on personal property the place regulation enforcement exercise is going on.
Critics say it violates the First Modification to forestall the recording of cops performing their duties in public.
“Members of the general public have a primary modification proper to video police in public locations and what this tries to do is discourage individuals from doing that,” constitutional legal professional Dan Barr informed AZ Household.
The brand new regulation goes into impact on Sept. 24.
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