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.

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.

    • worldwidewave@lemmy.world
      68·
      10 months ago

      Whenever I see dumb laws like this being passed, I think about all the problems they aren’t fixing. Louisiana is damn-near last place on all of the quality of life indexes. It’s sad that they keep electing politicians who refuse to better their quality of life.

      • RippleEffect@lemm.eeEnglish
        19·
        10 months ago

        It doesn’t help that it was a shitty election cycle. People didn’t vote and are in shock that the republican won where turnout was 36% of registered voters because people assumed the jungle primary would cause a dem and repub to move forward when in fact, of that 36%, Landry won outright with 51%.

        Im not saying he wouldn’t have won anyways, but it would have been much closer if people would actually vote.

          • RippleEffect@lemm.eeEnglish
            4·
            10 months ago

            Fair. I guess I just mean he won with less than 20% of registered voters so it’s difficult for us to know if it’s a fluke since dems did not come out to vote

      • Desistance@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        10 months ago

        They’re not electing anyone. 83% of the population didn’t vote in the recent Governor election.

      • Madison420@lemmy.world
        5·
        10 months ago

        That’s the idea, they want a rule that allows exclusion of journalists so their shittness is less public.

    • MiltownClowns@lemmy.world
      12·
      10 months ago

      Literally. They write laws meant to be test cases before the supreme court to usher in fascism via minority rule.

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
    62·
    10 months ago

    Not being able to approach Police Officers because they legally can then THROW YOU IN JAIL is called FREEDOM!

  • Gumby@lemmy.worldEnglish
    221·
    10 months ago

    Police are suddenly going to become really bad at estimating just how far away 25 feet is.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
      232·
      10 months ago

      Nah. They just walk keep walking towards you. This law legalizes a behavior they already display called “bulldogging”. They walk towards you attempting to intimidate you into walking away. If you can’t be intimidated then they escalate until you are arrested for resisting arrest. This is just more smoke cover for cops to act like an occupying force.

  • Fades@lemmy.worldEnglish
    181·
    10 months ago

    Conservatives: acab? Who are you gonna call when you need help? A crackhead?

    cops: it is illegal for you to approach me if I feel like it

    crackhead: i’ll do anything for you for 50 bucks

  • Queen HawlSera@lemm.eeEnglish
    121·
    10 months ago

    How the fuck do I ask a cop for help? I mean… Not that I ever would, I mean if I call a crackhead to help me, they’re not gonna shoot my dog…

  • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
    4·
    10 months ago

    so it was the citizens who are being put in their place by militarized police, voting restrictions, lead in the water pipes, the underfunded and gutted education system, low minimum wage both state and federal, the pollution, healthcare access restrictions, etcetera that caused bad politicians to gain and hold power not anything else?

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
    2·
    10 months ago

    So as your car comes to a stop, check the car behind you or in front or the side. If it’s a cop, you’re fucked. They can just shoot you if you look at them with RBF resting bitch face.

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    115·
    10 months ago

    I’m questioning what prompted this, but the law seems perfectly reasonable in any case.

    25’ is the length of my driveway. I can hear and see a normal conversation quite well at that distance, and I can’t hear for shit. If you’re closer than that and a cop tells you to back it up, why not?

    Cops are mostly dealing with idiots. How close to a potentially volatile situation do you need to be? How close do you want to be? We can still clearly observe the situation at 25’.

    Now if they make filming or speaking illegal, I’m screaming to the heavens. And for the love of God, film these assholes. 25’ will suddenly become much further away if there’s no evidence.

    • Butterpaderp@lemmy.world
      5·
      10 months ago

      Now if they make filming or speaking illegal, I’m screaming to the heavens

      What do you think this law’s mostly going to be used for? It’s not gonna be enforced when they’re ‘dealing with idiots’, it’s gonna be enforced when they don’t want to be filmed doing bad shit.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
      3·
      10 months ago

      Every time this law has been passed it’s been used to stop people filming by walking toward them and then arresting them.