Nassau County lawmakers want to make it illegal to stand within 15 feet of officers and other emergency workers, but critics say the “buffer zone” is unconstitutional.
Civilians entering the “zone” for police, firefighters and other first responders in emergencies will be slapped with a misdemeanor and a $1,000 fine if they could be up to a year behind a bar.
The bill’s goal is to protect emergency responders from “threats, harassment, and physical interference” while on work.
“It is important that first responders are not hampered during an emergency and that they are allowed to engage in life-saving actions that our frontline heroes have been trained to carry out without distraction,” said Sen. John Ferretti.
The proposed law has bipartisan support from some Democrats, including Seth Coslow, who is running for county enforcement against incumbent Republican Bruce Blakeman.
“Our police officers and first responders shouldn’t have to fight the crowd while they save their lives,” Koslow told the Post. “This bill gives them the authority to keep up with confusion and do their work without interfering, which is supported by both parties.
State law already punishes people who interfere with their first responders by imposing up to one year in prison, three years of probation, or a $1,000 fine.
But the county’s 15-foot buffer is a step further, blocking everyone from walking near emergency workers.
“The floating buffer zone provides yet another way for police to keep activities hidden from public scrutiny,” Justin Harrison, senior policy advisor at Nyclu, told the Post. “Don’t make any laws that make police difficult to monitor, no one should make them safer. In reality, they violate the constitution, oppose the principles of government transparency and promote distrust among law enforcement.”
Harrison referred to other states that passed similar laws across the country and subsequently blocked them.
Last year, Louisiana passed a law prohibiting people from getting within 25 feet of police after being told to back up, but a federal judge blocked it last month, violating due process regulations in the 14th Amendment Terms, violating reporters’ rights to the first amendment terms, filming officers and collecting news.
Similar laws in Arizona and Indiana have also been attacked by federal judges.
“We hope that if Nassau laws are passed, we will meet the same fate,” Harrison said.
