Louisiana law criminalizes approaching police under certain circumstances

Critics fear law could stop bystanders from holding police accountable by preventing them from filming officers

Associated Press
Thu 30 May 2024 08.30 EDT

Critics of a new Louisiana law that makes it a crime to approach within 25ft (7.6 meters) of a police officer under certain circumstances fear 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 Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, on Tuesday and goes into effect on 1 August.

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In 2022, lawmakers in Arizona passed a law that would have made it illegal to knowingly film police officers 8ft (2.5 meters) or closer if the officer tells the person to stop. A coalition of media groups and the American Civil Liberties Union successfully sued to block Arizona’s law, with a federal judge ruling it unconstitutional, citing infringement against a clearly established right to film police doing their jobs.

In similar cases, half of the US appeals courts across the nation have ruled on the side of allowing people to record police without restriction.

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