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The identical week {that a} federal decide sentenced ex-cop Derek Chauvin to extra jail time for killing George Floyd, Arizona handed a regulation making it more durable to document police by limiting how shut bystanders may be whereas recording specified regulation enforcement exercise. Chauvin was convicted partially as a result of a recording exhibiting his assault on Floyd at shut proximity went viral. It was filmed by a teen named Darnella Frazier whereas she was standing “just a few ft away.”
The brand new Arizona regulation requires any bystanders recording police exercise within the state to face at a minimal of eight ft away from the motion. If bystanders transfer nearer after police have warned them to again off, they threat being charged with a misdemeanor and incurring fines of as much as $500, jail time of as much as 30 days, or probation of as much as a yr.
Sponsored by Republican state consultant John Kavanagh, the regulation often known as H.B. 2319 makes it unlawful to document police at shut vary. In a USA Immediately op-ed, Kavanagh mentioned you will need to go away this buffer for police to guard regulation enforcement from being assaulted by unruly bystanders. He mentioned “there’s no purpose” to come back nearer and predicted tragic outcomes for individuals who do, saying, “Such an strategy is unreasonable, pointless, and unsafe, and must be made unlawful.”
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