Louisiana revisits arresting someone for approaching within 25 feet of police on duty

A lawmaker and former police officer is behind a bill that would make it a misdemeanor crime in Louisiana for anyone to approach within 25 feet of a cop while they are “engaged in law enforcement duties.”

Legislators approved a similar proposal last year that then-Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed. Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to sign the current bill if it clears the Legislature.

House Bill 173, authored by Rep. Bryan Fontenot, R-Thibodaux, advanced Tuesday from the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice without opposition. 

“Some of the most intense times of a law enforcement officer’s job duties is the time he’s involved in an altercation. He’s trying to make an arrest. He could be dealing with a violent subject,” Fontenot told the committee. “It is a time … an officer is concerned about his safety when people approach and close in.”

Fontenot, who previously worked with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Thibodaux Police Department, added that the growing use of cellphone video to capture police who “need to be checked” is understandable. But he considers 25 feet an acceptable distance for quality video to be captured. It’s also enough room for an officer to be able to respond with lethal force against someone approaching them with a knife, he said, citing proof through “testing at police academies.”  

Different from last year’s bill, Fontenot’s version requires police to instruct a person to stop approaching or retreat. If the order is not made clear, the accused would have an acceptable defense.

Terry Landry Jr. with the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund argued against the legislation, saying it was unnecessary because existing law already handles interfering with police activity.

“We’re creating a problem where one does not exist. We’re creating additional crime where we have enough crimes on the books already here in Louisiana,” Landry said. I think that if someone is trying to ensure that justice is being carried out, we should be encouraging that – not trying to dissuade people from doing that.”   

Stephanie Willis with the ACLU of Louisiana also opposed the bill, saying citizens with cellphones can also help clear police accused of wrongdoing. 

The penalties attached to Fontenot’s bill include up to 60 days in jail and a fine that could reach $500.       

The committee also advanced a dozen other bills Tuesday. Unless otherwise noted, they were approved without objection.

House Bill 97, by Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, would update Louisiana’s law against panhandling and begging alongside certain highways and streets. It specifically forbids offering anything of value, such as cash or coins. The legislation would not apply for anyone collecting money for charitable purposes. 

Sarah Whittington with the Justice and Accountability Center opposed the legislation, saying it was state overreach into a local matter. Meghan Garvey with the Louisiana Association of Defense Attorneys noted other panhandling-related laws have failed to pass constitutional muster with federal courts.    

House Bill 202, by Rep. Kim Carver, R-Mandeville, creates the state crime of theft of U.S. Postal Service mail. Yes, it’s already a federal offense but Carver said federal prosecutors are too overwhelmed to tackle the extent of the problem. He cited problems in his area with criminals breaking into mail drop boxes. A first offense under this legislation could be punished with up to five years in prison and a fine reaching $5,000. Second and subsequent offenses could incur penalties of up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines. 

The Louisiana Bankers Association supports Carver’s bill, citing the ongoing problem of check fraud.  

House Bill 205, by Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, would add nine new crimes to the state’s racketeering law: inciting to riot, injury by arson, simple arson of a religious building, manufacture and possession of delayed incendiary devices, manufacture and possession of a bomb, aggravated criminal damage to property, criminal damage to historic buildings or landmarks by defacing with graffiti and criminal damage to a critical infrastructure.

The change, approved in a 9-4 vote, would allow prosecutors to treat such offenses as organized crime or gang activity. 

Louisiana Progress, the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the ACLU of Louisiana  opposed the legislation, fearing it would be interpreted overly broadly and its potential chilling effect on First Amendment rights. Peter Robins-Brown with Louisiana Progress said his concern is that the expanded law could be used to quell reasonable, nonviolent political or labor protests. 

House Bill 211, by Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, would update state law on credit card skimming to include devices that can read microchip cards. It lowers the threshold for more severe punishment from third to second offenses, which would involve prison sentences from one to 10 years and fines of up to $20,000. Villio’s proposal would also remove restitution exceptions currently in place for indigent defendants. 

House Bill 212, by Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, would notify victims when defendants who are found not competent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity are transferred to another facility, placed on conditional release or released from state custody.

House Bill 213, by Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-New Orleans, would increase the maximum prison sentence for negligent homicide from five years to 20 years. Emma Devillier with the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office testified in favor of the bill, citing the example of a babysitter convicted in the death of an infant. Because a jury reduced her charge from manslaughter to negligent homicide, the judge could only sentence her to five years.

The 20-year maximum prison sentence would also apply when a child younger than 10 is killed. It could also be handed down to a dog owner found criminally negligent if their animal kills someone. Hilferty specified her proposal wouldn’t come into play if a dog escapes their cage or yard, as it would more than likely be considered plain negligence.        

Garvey, with the state defense attorney’s group, opposed the bill because it would condone a lengthy sentence for a crime of negligence. She also noted state law doesn’t specifically define negligence, leaving it up to prosecutors and juries to determine instances in which a dog is responsible for someone’s death. 

Zach Daniels, executive director of the Louisiana Association of District Attorneys, said Hilftery’s legislation would likely apply to a dog owner who’s been routinely cited for allowing a vicious dog to roam if the animal ends up killing someone.   

House Bill 214, by Villio, seeks to update the state’s check fraud law. For second and subsequent offenses, it would provide for prison terms between one and 10 years and fines up to $1 million. The proposal also expands “forged” checks to include those that are washed with solvents or erased to remove the name of the payee or change the dollar amount. Punitive exceptions for indigent defendants would also be removed.  

House Bill 230, by Hilferty, would put a pause on the court clock for prosecutors when a convicted defendant is granted a new trial until the state exhausts all reviews through appellate courts and the Louisiana Supreme Court. Currently, state law calls for the new trial for the defendant to begin within one year of a judge granting it.

House Bill 343, by Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, ultimately wants Louisiana courts to establish standards to handle criminal trials in a more timely manner. His original proposal called for 75% of felony cases to be adjudicated within 90 days of prosecution beginning, 90% within 180 days and 98% within a year. 

Bacala swapped out that language with a requirement that each judicial district submit a monthly report to the state Supreme Court with the number of criminal cases initiated and the total adjudicated from the same month of the prior year.

“We have no baseline,” Bacala said. “I can’t tell you if we adjudicate 30% of cases within a year or 50%. I can tell you we don’t meet the national standards. We don’t know where we’re at.”

The Louisiana Association of District Attorneys opposes the original version of the bill because it doesn’t feel prosecutors have the manpower to meet them. 

Voters of the Experience, an advocacy group for the formerly incarcerated, supports Bacala’s legislation and its emphasis on the need for speedy trials for defendants. 

House Bill 356, by Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, involves time limitations for prosecutors to pursue third-degree rape cases. Such assaults involve the victim being incapable of resisting and the perpetrator aware that the victim cannot consent. Boyd’s bill would create an exception in current state law that won’t start the time limitations until the victim becomes aware of the crime. 

House Bill 541, by Rep. Rodney Lyons, D-Marrero, would amend existing state law that prohibits the sharing of a private image without consent. The changes would apply the statute to instances where someone obtains photos  from someone’s cellphone without their permission.

House Bill 542, by Vincent Cox III, R-Gretna, provides increased penalties for red light violations that result in accidents. Offenders could be put in jail for up to six months if the accident results in injury and up to a year if someone is killed.