STATEHOUSE — Lawmakers are pushing a bill that would give police officers the ability to jail those who get too close to a crime scene.
Under House Bill 1186 if a person approaches within 25 feet of an officer conducting an investigation and doesn’t back up if the officer tells them to, they could face up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.
The Bill author Rep. Wendy McNamara, an Evansville Republican, said she wrote the bill in response to officers increasingly having to simultaneously work a crime scene and deal with bystander interference.
She said the measure would only apply to active investigations, not to officers out on patrol or engaged in other daily tasks.
The bill would allow officers a 25-foot threshold as a reference to decide whether someone is getting too close to a crime scene.
“Two of the most necessary items to be able to de-escalate any situation are time and distance,” Rep. McNamara told the State Senate committee on Tuesday.
Those that oppose the bill say it hinders the ability of the public to hold officers accountable, especially in cases where misconduct might get caught on camera.
“Citizens’ ability to record police records creates an independent record of what took place in a particular incident,” said Katie Blair with the ACLU of Indiana. “Community members cannot hold police officers accountable if they cannot observe what is going on.”
The bill passed the Senate Criminal Code committee on Tuesday on a party-line vote. It has already has full approval of the Indiana House. The bill now heads to the Senate.
