SOUTH BEND — The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit on Tuesday on behalf of a citizen journalist claiming that Indiana's new "25-foot" law violates his constitutional rights.
The law, which took effect on July 1, gives police the ability to enforce a 25-foot buffer zone around investigating officers. If a person "knowingly or intentionally" approaches an officer and ignores an order to stop, they can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor.
The ACLU's suit was filed on behalf of Donald Nicodemus, a citizen journalist who lives in South Bend. According to the press release issued by the ACLU on Tuesday, Nicodemus regularly posts videos on his YouTube channel of police and public-safety personnel. They claim South Bend Police have been enforcing the new law, which prevents him from getting close enough to observe and record what they are doing.
“The unbridled discretion given to law enforcement officers by the new 25-foot law allows for, and invites content and viewpoint-based discrimination,” said Ken Falk, legal director at the ACLU of Indiana. “This gives police officers unchecked authority to prohibit citizens from approaching within 25 feet of the officers to observe their actions, even if the actions of the citizens are not and will not interfere with the police.”
According to the ACLU, Nicodemus was recording and live streaming police activity on July 20 and was allegedly at least 25 feet from the scene when he and other observers were approached and told they had to move back even further.
...After approximately 12 minutes, another police officer approached Nicodemus and others who were gathered at the “25 foot” point and said that this was his crime scene, and that everyone had to move back another 25 feet. The officer threatened those on the corner, including Nicodemus, would go to jail if they did not move back another 25 feet, stating that there was a “new law.”
“The right of citizens to observe and record the police is a critical check and balance,” said Katie Blair, advocacy and public policy director at the ACLU of Indiana. “Whether it’s a traffic stop, a police response to a mental health crisis, or other police-community interactions, community members cannot hold police officers accountable if they cannot observe what is going on.”
