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Louisiana law will criminalize approaching police under certain circumstances

43 points by jawns 2y ago

seeknotfind 2y ago
I think we all learned the value of some personal space during COVID-19. I'd really like the right to ask people to stop approaching you be extended to all people, not just police.
- mikeweiss 2y ago
  Would you criminalize 'approaching' someone... And what is the exact definition of approaching? I'm personally against adding any additional laws to the books that will be abused and misused by the public and law enforcement.
  - gwright 2y ago
    > Would you criminalize 'approaching' someone That is a very misleading summarization. It is a short article. The law requires several conditions: * approach a police office * approach has to occur "knowingly or intentionally" * the officer has to be "lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties" * the approach has to happen *after* the person has been ordered "stop approaching or retreat
    - chrismcb 2y ago
      "lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties" so .. and in duty officer? But if it requires the officer to tell the person to stop or retreat(that isn't vague) then why do we need this law? There is already a law that you must obey lawful orders.
      - garyfirestorm 2y ago
        Yes but how do we make them obey unlawful orders? A: by introducing a vague language in form of a vague law.
    - seeknotfind 2y ago
      Well to be fair to Mike, I also summarized these details with "approaching". If someone is approaching me, I'm trying to do something else, they're harassing me, should it really be okay? The other night, I was walking down the sidewalk, and some dude I've never seen held up the first bump and said what's up!? I was surprised, kind of kept on walking and he says "fuck you too". That's okay, but if I'm like get away, and he's getting in my way, following me, then yeah, fuck off. Cop sees that and he still doesn't stop, why not a ticket. That's better luck for fist bump bro than getting popped in the jaw. It sucks cops abuse some things, and some people harass cops. It's not one way or the other, my read between the lines is this article is one sided.
- unethical_ban 2y ago
  That has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of the article.
klyrs 2y ago
> Language in the measure appears to put in some safety nets, stating that an acceptable “defense to this crime” includes establishing that the “lawful order or command was neither received nor understood by the defendant.” Noise cancelling headphones?
nyokodo 2y ago
It’s not obvious to me that 25 feet distance from an officer conducting an arrest isn’t reasonable assuming the wording of the law and its interpretation are not putting innocent bystanders who blunder into a situation at additional risk. The article indicates there are ostensibly protections for this but I would not want to be the person testing that in practice and there may be any number of edge cases that could make the law unreasonable like when an arrest occurs on private property etc. You can still film an officer from 25 feet away.
- rightbyte 2y ago
  25 feet is e.g. also blocking the sidewalk over a non-main street. Two arms lengths and an inch would be reasonable at most. Then the cop and citizen can't possibly touch each other.
- Brananarchy 2y ago
  25 feet is actually pretty far. You could be on top of a two story building or across the street and still be "too close". Obviously neither of those cases would interfere with an officer's duties. To me this law is clearly overreaching, and seems intended to scare people off from trying to see what their "officers of the law" are doing.
  - yencabulator 2y ago
    25 feet is a distance under which running at someone with a knife is a very dangerous attack. Decreasing the chances of that happening to the officer (while they're e.g. arresting someone else) is the purpose here.
    - DaveExeter 2y ago
      No, the purpose of this is to discourage people from recording police.
      - yencabulator 2y ago
        Yeah clearly a defensive distance threshold that's been taught all over the world for decades is purely a coincidence, surely. Recording video at 25 feet is plenty good for evidence.
Narhem 2y ago
What I should never feel uncomfortable approaching police. Feels like this is an admission of guilt by the cops…
hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
IANAL, but isn't interfering with official duties already a crime in most/all jurisdictions? Or perhaps this proposed law just buttresses it with a specific distance quantitative property for LA. Texas example: https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._penal_code_section_38.15 https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._penal_code_section_38...
Nasrudith 2y ago
So if the police insist increasingly upon being treated like dangerous wild animals (seriously, look at every 'how to deal with police' guide), how long until we can legally shoot them? Wishful thinking I suppose, just like thinking that highway robbers would be shot or hanged.
Log_out_ 2y ago
So.. Panopticon drone that autokeeps distance while observing and live streaming events?

43 points by jawns 2y ago

I think we all learned the value of some personal space during COVID-19. I'd really like the right to ask people to stop approaching you be extended to all people, not just police.

mikeweiss 2y ago
Would you criminalize 'approaching' someone... And what is the exact definition of approaching? I'm personally against adding any additional laws to the books that will be abused and misused by the public and law enforcement.
- gwright 2y ago
  > Would you criminalize 'approaching' someone That is a very misleading summarization. It is a short article. The law requires several conditions: * approach a police office * approach has to occur "knowingly or intentionally" * the officer has to be "lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties" * the approach has to happen *after* the person has been ordered "stop approaching or retreat
  - chrismcb 2y ago
    "lawfully engaged in the execution of his official duties" so .. and in duty officer? But if it requires the officer to tell the person to stop or retreat(that isn't vague) then why do we need this law? There is already a law that you must obey lawful orders.
    - garyfirestorm 2y ago
      Yes but how do we make them obey unlawful orders? A: by introducing a vague language in form of a vague law.
  - seeknotfind 2y ago
    Well to be fair to Mike, I also summarized these details with "approaching". If someone is approaching me, I'm trying to do something else, they're harassing me, should it really be okay? The other night, I was walking down the sidewalk, and some dude I've never seen held up the first bump and said what's up!? I was surprised, kind of kept on walking and he says "fuck you too". That's okay, but if I'm like get away, and he's getting in my way, following me, then yeah, fuck off. Cop sees that and he still doesn't stop, why not a ticket. That's better luck for fist bump bro than getting popped in the jaw. It sucks cops abuse some things, and some people harass cops. It's not one way or the other, my read between the lines is this article is one sided.
unethical_ban 2y ago
That has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of the article.

klyrs 2y ago

> Language in the measure appears to put in some safety nets, stating that an acceptable “defense to this crime” includes establishing that the “lawful order or command was neither received nor understood by the defendant.” Noise cancelling headphones?

nyokodo 2y ago

It’s not obvious to me that 25 feet distance from an officer conducting an arrest isn’t reasonable assuming the wording of the law and its interpretation are not putting innocent bystanders who blunder into a situation at additional risk. The article indicates there are ostensibly protections for this but I would not want to be the person testing that in practice and there may be any number of edge cases that could make the law unreasonable like when an arrest occurs on private property etc. You can still film an officer from 25 feet away.

rightbyte 2y ago
25 feet is e.g. also blocking the sidewalk over a non-main street. Two arms lengths and an inch would be reasonable at most. Then the cop and citizen can't possibly touch each other.
Brananarchy 2y ago
25 feet is actually pretty far. You could be on top of a two story building or across the street and still be "too close". Obviously neither of those cases would interfere with an officer's duties. To me this law is clearly overreaching, and seems intended to scare people off from trying to see what their "officers of the law" are doing.
- yencabulator 2y ago
  25 feet is a distance under which running at someone with a knife is a very dangerous attack. Decreasing the chances of that happening to the officer (while they're e.g. arresting someone else) is the purpose here.
  - DaveExeter 2y ago
    No, the purpose of this is to discourage people from recording police.
    - yencabulator 2y ago
      Yeah clearly a defensive distance threshold that's been taught all over the world for decades is purely a coincidence, surely. Recording video at 25 feet is plenty good for evidence.

Narhem 2y ago

What I should never feel uncomfortable approaching police. Feels like this is an admission of guilt by the cops…

hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago

IANAL, but isn't interfering with official duties already a crime in most/all jurisdictions? Or perhaps this proposed law just buttresses it with a specific distance quantitative property for LA. Texas example: https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._penal_code_section_38.15 https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._penal_code_section_38...

Nasrudith 2y ago

So if the police insist increasingly upon being treated like dangerous wild animals (seriously, look at every 'how to deal with police' guide), how long until we can legally shoot them? Wishful thinking I suppose, just like thinking that highway robbers would be shot or hanged.

Log_out_ 2y ago

So.. Panopticon drone that autokeeps distance while observing and live streaming events?