ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Getting too close to a first responder could now land you in jail. In addition, the state will soon forbid local citizen review boards from investigating officer misconduct. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed both of those bills into law Friday morning in St. Augustine.
The Republican capped off a week of putting his name on "tough-on-crime" legislation, which included fighting fentanyl and upgrading penalties for shoplifting and child predators. The stop in St. Johns County was all about supporting law enforcement and fighting what the governor called a “disturbing” national narrative against them.
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“We’ve got some strange currents in our society right now that really look to delegitimize law enforcement and what they’re doing,” said DeSantis.
The more controversial of the two new laws is HB 601. Under its provisions, city and county citizen review boards will lose their ability to investigate officer misconduct.
They're just one of several ways an officer's conduct can be reviewed and scrutinized, though this panel is often composed of concerned residents. DeSantis said Friday the boards have been turned into political weapons.
“They’ll stack it with activists," he said. "And they’ll just start reviewing things and trying to put people under the gun — even if there is no basis to do that.”
Instead, sheriffs and police chiefs will be able to appoint their own boards to review policies and procedures— just not individuals.
Critics during the 2024 legislative session worried it would undermine the trust of minority communities.
“We don’t believe the police properly police the police," said Rep. Christopher Benjamin (D-Miami Gardens) during a debate on the bill last month. "We just don’t. This oversight board, which had their power to investigate, lent some credibility back to law enforcement.”
The other new law, SB 184, prevents a person from coming within 25 feet of a first responder after being told not to approach. Violators could face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
House Rep. Alex Rizo (R-Hialeah) came up with the idea as a way to protect first responders from harassment and danger. He jotted the first draft on a napkin a few years ago.
“There is a little stick figure in the middle of it — with a circle around it," said Rizo. "It looks like a big halo.”
His so-called "halo bill" is now facing scrutiny from First Amendment advocates. Florida's First Amendment Foundation recently urged DeSantis to veto in a letter saying it would intrude on constitutional rights.
"In this vein," the letter reads, "we want to inform you that it is our opinion, that SB 184 - “Impeding, Threatening, or Harassing First Responders” - is unnecessary for law enforcement safety and, if signed into law, could give rise to discretionary enforcement and abuse by police officers to prevent civilians from exercising their rights under the First Amendment to record police conduct in public."
Rizo recognized there were concerns over what the right distance should be, saying he first wanted 21 feet. The bill was later amended to 25. The lawmaker suggested that was still close enough for a working journalist to see clearly.
“It does seem like a lot," said Rizo. "But when you’ve got a camera and you actually measure it and you can see what you do actually end up recording, it’s vivid.”
Rizo's law is now set to take effect in January of next year. The new rules guiding citizen review boards will start in July of this year.
