Florida will soon have a so-called “Halo Law” meant to protect first responders. The new law, starting in January, creates a 25-foot buffer zone around law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical crews.
If a person is given a verbal warning to not approach and they still try and go into that no-go zone, then they could face a fine or even spend time in jail.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is thankful state lawmakers passed House Bill 184, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April.
“It only causes a chilling effect to goobers that want to stir up trouble,” Judd said. “So, take your goober butt outside of 25 feet and you can video.”
Judd said the upcoming new law won’t prevent people from recording law enforcement officers statewide, but it will be a crime getting too close after being warned.
“I might point out that we are going to seize your cell phone as evidence because you’re going to have the video on the cell phone of being up in our face,” Judd said.
Bobby Block is the executive director of First Amendment Foundation, who supports the law’s intent to protect first responders. However, he has a few concerns. One of them involves whether people will be allowed to record their own interactions with law enforcement.
“My right to film. My right to broadcast that information. Could that be infringed because the individual on the scene says that they were emotionally distressed?” Block said.
State lawmakers say this new law is meant to avoid people impeding, threatening, or harassing first responders. Block questions some of the law’s language, mainly the part describing ‘harassment’ as causing “substantial emotional distress” to a first responder.
“We don’t know what ‘substantial emotional distress is’,” Block said. “It creates problems and unfortunately those problems are only going to end up being resolved in a court of law.”
Judd said the law is plain and simple.
“You can video law enforcement officers, that’s your constitutional right. But you’ve got to stay out of their way while they’re doing their jobs,” Judd said.
To read the full text of the law, click here.