Florida’s ‘Halo Law’ Goes Into Effect, Which Will Just Let More Cops Dodge Accountability

Last April, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a law designed specifically to make it easier for cops to arrest people who film them. While it’s generally accepted (without Supreme Court precedent… for some weird reason) by most courts that recording public employees in public while they perform their public duties is protected by the First Amendment, this law says the First Amendment simply doesn’t apply within approximately 25 feet of any cop who doesn’t wanted to be filmed.

“I don’t think there’s anyone that can match what we’ve done to protect the citizens of this state, but particularly to ensure that we respect and protect the men and women who wear the uniform,” DeSantis said at the bill signing event in St. Augustine, surrounded by uniformed officers and standing behind a lectern sign that said, “Supporting Law Enforcement.”

One bill (SB 184) creates a 25-foot “no-go” zone around first responders, including police. The other (HB 601) would limit what citizen police oversight boards can do, including investigating complaints of officer misconduct, and would require these panels to be re-established under county sheriffs and municipal police chiefs, who would appoint the members.

To make it appear this isn’t just a favor to cops, the legislation says the no-go zone applies to all “first responders,” although we have yet to hear any fire department personnel or EMS responders complain about being filmed while performing their duties.

The law went into effect on January 1st of this year, but we already saw it invoked last year during some questionable police response during a traffic stop of Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. While some officers were pushing Hill’s face into the pavement for being less than compliant during the stop, other officers were yelling at people operating cell phone cameras to move away from the scene.

The newly enacted law creates the threat of jail time for people who are just trying to document police activity. Here’s Firehouse (a site that provides information targeting non-cop “first responders”) reposting Miami Herald reporting that explains what the law says and what it means for those who might intrude on the subjective 25-foot halo created by this legislation:

Under the “Halo Law,” if you fail to comply with the request to move back and are perceived to be harassing or impeding first responders, you could face a second-degree misdemeanor charge.

The charge could include jail time of up to 60 days. You could also be fined $500.

“Harass,” as defined by the new law, is to “willfully engage in a course of conduct directed at a first responder which intentionally causes substantial emotional distress in that first responder and serves no legitimate purpose.”

It’s nice that the last sentence includes an “and.” With an “or,” literally anyone any cop didn’t want hanging around the scene could be portrayed as (subjectively) “harassing.” With the “and,” a little more must be shown to indicate intent, although “no legitimate purpose” determinations are still in the eye of the beholder until a court takes a look at whatever evidence remains following a cop-ordered shut down of a citizen’s camera.

One of the worst people in Florida law enforcement was one of the first to applaud the law’s enactment:

“You can video law enforcement officers, that’s your constitutional right,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, an advocate of the new law, said in an NBC6 report. “But you’ve got to stay out of their way while they’re doing their jobs.”

That might mean something if people who have been arrested for filming cops were actually getting in the way of officers “doing their jobs.” But almost every arrest witnessed to date involves a cop wandering away from the scene to harass citizens armed with cameras. After interfering with their right to film, cops take phones, manhandle people exercising their rights, and invoke laws that were definitely not written with the intent of protecting law enforcement officers from public accountability.

It’s worth noting that both the supporters and the opponents of the law have never invoked other first responders when discussing the law. That’s because — despite the wording — it’s not about protecting all first responders from this alleged “harassment.” It’s only there to protect law enforcement officers, because they’re the only ones complaining about the public’s recently innate ability to document their actions. This is a favor to cops.

Real first responders — those who show up with a desire to help people — don’t need to be “saved” from the public by BS legislation. Only cops who don’t like their narratives being undercut want “protection” from the public’s ability to undermine their claims. Those writing the law know this and so does the governor of the state, who knows it takes the support of the powerful to remain employed as the Chief Petty Tyrant of America’s penis.