A new Louisiana law that makes it a crime to approach within 25 feet of a police officer under certain circumstances is an affront to the movement for racial justice and violates the First Amendment, civil rights attorneys say.“When you enact a law that prevents people from seeing for themselves whether injustice is being done, that is the biggest thing against civil rights you can ever do," said Shean Williams, an attorney with The Cochran Firm in Atlanta.
The Louisiana measure’s author, state Rep. Bryan Fontenot, said the legislation was drafted to provide officers “peace of mind and safe distance to do their job.” Weber helped reach a settlement more than a decade ago that required Atlanta police to stop interfering with people who record officers performing their duties in public.
But even without an explicit reference to filming, the First Amendment concerns remain, said Susan Meyers, a senior staff attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, said she experienced the importance of filming police first-hand last year when she and some colleagues were pulled over by an officer who said he suspected the vehicle they were in was stolen.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: BNNBloomberg - 🏆 83. / 50 Read more »
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: SooToday - 🏆 8. / 85 Read more »
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »