The Alabama House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday on a bill allowing criminal charges for approaching or remaining within 25 feet of a first responder when commanded and for cursing or using obscene gestures.
House Bill 224 (HB224) by State Rep. Allen Treadaway (R-Morris) updates the state's laws on "obstructing governmental operations." Under existing law, the crime of obstructing governmental operations is a Class A misdemeanor committed when a person uses unlawful means to intentionally obstruct, impair, or hinder a government function or a public servant.
HB224 would clarify that the crime applies when a person intentionally approaches or remains within 25 feet of a first responder after being ordered not to approach or vacate the area and impedes or threatens the first responder.
The bill initially set the distance at 100 feet, which Treadaway changed during Wednesday's committee hearing by offering a substitute bill. He also removed a section that included harassment as a chargeable offense.
"We've seen where firemen are trying to do their job, whether it's trying to hook up a hose that may be a block away, and groups of individuals are impeding their ability to get that done, putting lives in danger," Treadaway said. "Same thing with law enforcement officers. What this bill simply does is allow law enforcement to give a warning [to] stand back 25 feet, [and] not to interfere."
Under the bill, a person will be charged if they impede the first responder's ability to carry out his duties or threaten or subject them to threats or physical touch. Charges could also be filed for those directing abusive language or making obscene gestures toward the first responder.
Violations are considered Class A misdemeanors, which carry up to a year in prison and a $6,000 fine.
Two people signed up to speak at the hearing: one for the bill and one against.
Camille Bennett, president and CEO of Project Say Something, a black-centered liberal activist organization, spoke against the bill.
"This bill makes protest impossible," Bennett said. "How can a public servant accurately measure 25 feet and carry around a bullhorn, instructing protestors to disperse in real-time."
Bennett continued, saying the bill would grant any public servant the proverbial carte blanche to shut down dissent based on its perceived ambiguity. She also claimed the distance requirement would remove all filming of police interactions.
"This language gives every public servant the right to define abuse," Bennett said. "Abuse can be as simple as a chant or rallies that call out public servants. The definition may apply to county commission meetings, city council meetings, school board meetings, etc."
"HB 224 will eliminate third-party recordings of crime scenes. The recordings of police incidents have been proven to contradict the reports of the officers involved. This bill will eliminate that window of accountability."
Former president of the Alabama Fraternal Order of Police Everette Johnson, who is also the executive director of the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission, endorsed the bill, highlighting its perceived benefits for the state's first responders.
"This will provide protection, not just for law enforcement, but for public servants as a whole, to allow a safe space for those officers to work and those public safety officials to work, to do the job that we've asked them to do," Johnson said.
He continued, "Our first responders should be allowed to work in a safe place. They should be allowed the opportunity to do the job that they're sworn to do without interference from outside entities and people trying to prevent arrest or [cause] a disruption of public safety services that we ask of them to do."
After the hearing, State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) took umbrage with the bill's language, asking if a person could be arrested for standing 24 feet from a first responder, giving them the middle finger while saying nothing else.
A District Attorney's Association representative answered England with an emphatic yes.
The committee did not vote on the legislation on Wednesday, meaning the soonest the bill could see a vote would be in two weeks when lawmakers return from Spring Break. Treadaway also said he could be amendable to further amending the bill to assuage concerns, but not before voicing audible frustration.
"We've got to support law enforcement when they're out there doing their job," Treadaway said. "Nobody is taking away peaceful protest in this country, or in this city, or in this bill. This bill has been worked on, and it's really specific about what we're seeing an alarming rate of, and that is, not peaceful protests, but individuals obstructing, being paid to come into town."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Everette Johnson was not speaking on behalf of the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission but rather as the former president of the Alabama Fraternal Order of Police. This story has been updated to reflect this.
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