In Lawrence, an arrest was made this week of a woman from Marion County who was charged with violating a new Indiana law. The charge was for standing within 25 feet of a police investigation, which is now considered illegal.
According to court records, a woman from Indianapolis was taken into custody on Monday in Lawrence and initially charged with “obstruction by encroaching on an investigation,” among other offenses.
Earlier this year, Indiana lawmakers passed a law known as “Unlawful Encroachment on an Investigation,” which grants police a 25-foot buffer to carry out their duties. According to reports , this law aims to prevent any interference with police investigations and ensure that they can perform their duties without any hindrance.
According to a law that was passed during the summer, if a person approaches a police officer after being ordered to stop, they can be arrested. This law can be found at this link.
It seems that the authorities are finally taking action as local law enforcement is now starting to enforce the law.
According to a recent report from the Lawrence Police Department, officers were summoned to conduct an investigation in the 4200 block of N. Franklin Road at approximately 3 p.m. on Monday, October 2nd.
As per the report by LPD, officers made an arrest while conducting their investigation. A woman was taken into custody and later charged with the following offenses, as stated in the report.
As per the police report drafted by an LPD officer, the officers noticed the woman capturing their activities on her mobile phone while they were carrying out an arrest warrant at a nearby gas station.
According to LPD, the woman was abiding by the law at the beginning as she was more than 25 feet away. However, as time passed, she moved closer to the area.
According to the LPD, as the suspect who was being arrested on a warrant was being loaded into an ambulance for treatment, the woman managed to get within a foot of the ambulance and continued to record.
According to LPD, the officers informed the woman that she was in violation of encroachment law, but she expressed her disagreement verbally.
According to reports, the woman expressed her frustration to the officers by stating that the vehicle they were driving was not a police car, but an ambulance. Her statement implies that the officers were misusing the emergency vehicle for their own purposes. It is unclear what led to the altercation between the woman and the officers, but her comment reflects her disapproval of their actions. It is essential for law enforcement officials to use emergency vehicles for their designated purposes, and not abuse their power by using them for personal reasons.
According to the LPD, the woman was instructed to face the other way and was then placed in handcuffs. It was reported that she managed to free one of her hands from the restraints, but she was lawfully detained once again shortly after.
In Central Indiana, the State’s police encroachment law did not receive widespread acclaim.
The new law was barely two months old when the ACLU of Indiana took legal action, filing a lawsuit against it. According to the lawsuit, the law prevents law enforcement officers in Indiana from being held accountable for their actions, which is a cause for concern.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the recently implemented law on July 1, 2023, has been deemed as a violation of constitutional rights. The ACLU argued that citizens have the right to “observe and record the police” and therefore, this law is a direct infringement on that right.
As new information becomes available, this article will be updated accordingly. Stay tuned for more details.
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