A woman was arrested in what is believed to be the first case tied to an Indiana law that requires bystanders to back up 25 feet when police request it, Scripps News reports. According to a probable cause affidavit, Lawrence, In., officers were serving a felony warrant when a woman continued to disobey the new law. While police were moving the person arrested into an ambulance, the woman allegedly stepped near the officers. She was requested to move back at least 25 feet. When asked, the woman stated "This is an ambulance, not your police car." Police then detained the woman. After being handcuffed, the woman complained that the handcuffs were too tight.
The woman could face charges of escape, resisting law enforcement and unlawful encroachment of an investigation. In August, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit to stop the enforcement of the law. "While Indiana’s new law does not explicitly bar people from filming officers, the law essentially gives police unchecked authority to prohibit citizens from observing their actions, even if the citizens are not interfering with the police — clearly threatening Hoosiers’ free speech rights," the ACLU said.
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