Federal appeals court blocks Indiana's 25-foot police buffer law

A federal appeals court has blocked an Indiana law that gave police authority to arrest anyone who came within 25 feet of them after being told to stop.

A group of media organizations sued the state two years ago to halt the law's enforcement.

The law is straightforward: If a person approaches within 25 feet of an on-duty police officer after being told to stop, they've committed a Class C misdemeanor, which can carry a prison term of up to 60 days.

Media organizations argued the law is unconstitutional because it gives officers too much discretion to arbitrarily enforce it. Both a federal district court and, now, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
 

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In its ruling, the appellate court said the state's attorneys admitted that an officer can order someone to stop, potentially triggering the law, for a good or bad reason, or no reason at all — even if it's just because the officer "had a 'bad breakfast.'"

The ruling that temporarily halts enforcement of the law said the measure is likely unconstitutional because it encourages "arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement."
 

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.