Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services PHOENIX — State lawmakers have approved legislation that foes say will make it harder for individuals to police the police.
"Having been a cop for 20 years, I can tell you that when somebody gets real close, that you don't know, when you're taking enforcement actions or dealing with any potentially dangerous situation, you worry,'' he said. The bill was further altered to say it applies only when the person making the recording"knows or reasonably should know'' where the police activity is occurring."Every single session we talk about opportunities to bridge trust between the community and police,'' he said."And every single session we see a bill that further and further deepens that wedge.''
In fact, he originally wanted a 15-foot exclusion zone. But Kavanagh conceded that would have raised constitutional issues. He settled on eight feet based on federal court rulings that protesters can be kept eight feet away from entrances to abortion clinics. Sen. Raquel Teran, D-Phoenix, said the American Civil Liberties Union has cited what it says are constitutional defects in the measure.