Under a new bill signed into law by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Wednesday, people will be banned from taking close-range recordings of Arizona police, and violating the law will be considered a misdemeanor.
Sponsored by Rep. John Kavanagh, House Bill 2319, makes it illegal for anyone within 8 feet of ‘law enforcement activity’ to record police if they know – or reasonably should know – that such activity is occurring and if they’ve been verbally warned by an officer not to record.
The law signed by Ducey, which will go into effect on Sept. 24, defines law enforcement activity as conducting an arrest, questioning a suspicious person, enforcing the law, issuing a summons, or handling a person that is emotionally disturbed, acting disorderly, or is exhibiting abnormal behavior.
Recording of police is allowed in cases when a person is subject to police contact if the recording isn’t interfering with lawful police actions such as searching, administering field sobriety tests or handcuffing.
The occupants of a vehicle stopped by police are also allowed to record their interactions if that does not interfere with lawful police actions.
Presenting the law, Kavanagh stressed that it’s necessary to give the police a buffer when people get dangerously close to potentially violent encounters, pointing out groups who are hostile to the police or follow the police officers to record police incidents.
He explained that the required distance is necessary since police officers have no way of knowing if an approaching person is an innocent bystander or someone who might assault them, and become distracted, making themselves vulnerable to assaults or risking losing the suspect.
Kavanagh also added that a video taken from farther away would likely show more context without affecting the quality of videos showing potential excessive force incidents due to the modern sophistication of cellphone cameras.
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