INDIANAPOLIS — If a statehouse bill becomes law, people would be required to stand 25 feet away from a police officer if the office makes that request during an incident.
"I think that this does not help community and police relations," community advocate Wildstyle Pachall said.
He feels that House Bill 1186 will lead to officers not allowing citizens to film police interactions in public. It's something he says he experienced.
"That officer could have told me to get away from him and keep me even further back from being able to film what was going on during an encounter of three young Black men in my community," Pachall said.
A representative with the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police says the bill promotes officer safety and public safety.
"A lot of times when an officer will pull someone over or detain someone ... if that person has been in some sort of altercation with another individual, the individual that was in the initial fight will come back and try to fight this individual while the officer is present and that just can't happen," Edward Merchant said.
Those types of situations are why state representative Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) wrote the bill.
"Right now a law enforcement officer has to be touched in order to get somebody away from them and be able to deal with the situation and often times it escalates," McNamara told WRTV.
The bill is now headed to the Senate. If it passes, it will go to Gov. Eric Holcomb's desk.
-
Indiana lawmakers consider making changes to death penalty methods and abortion
Indiana lawmakers are weighing two controversial proposals that could expand options for carrying out the death penalty and create new legal consequences related to abortion.
Could your goldfish be from Indiana? Martinsville fishery turns 100
Did you know your pet goldfish or koi may have come from right here in Central Indiana? Ozark Fisheries in Martinsville is celebrating 100 years of raising and selling these fish.
City leaders respond to dangerous speeding concerns on 38th Street
City leaders are doing their part to address speeding issues on 38th Street, after residents from the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood raised concerns about the dangerous roadway.
Major investments fuel rapid growth along Ronald Reagan Parkway in Brownsburg
A $435 million Labcorp facility and a massive HarperCollins warehouse highlight rapid development and spark debate along Brownsburg’s fastest-growing corridor.
