William Tell
04-11-2015, 07:12 PM
The Liberty Movement here crushed this proposal.
https://scontent-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10446006_351151115073908_6932048952948234868_n.jpg ?oh=672c7f714c95ef5c199980eab79f8d0a&oe=55AC5D90
Bill to limit filming of police activity is droppedDays after footage of a South Carolina police shooting refueled a national conversation, a Texas bill that would limit filming of police activity met its demise.
State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, confirmed Friday that he will not seek a public hearing for his bill, which would have made it illegal for a resident to film within 25 feet of police activity. Those carrying handguns would have been kept from photographing or recording police within 100 feet. The bill contains an exception for the news media.
The decision was weeks in the making and came after conferring with organizations including the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, Villalba said.
Charley Wilkison, executive director of CLEAT, called Villalba a “friend of law enforcement” whose bill was well-intended.
“He’s a young, talented legislator, and there’s no hard feelings on this end,” Wilkison said. “It’s just not needed.”
Villalba said the bill was initially proposed by the Dallas Police Association and the Texas Municipal Police Association.
“We thought when we wrote our bill that we were making it safe not only for the police officers by that [25-foot] buffer zone, but also for those individuals that are seeking to keep law enforcement accountable to give them a safe zone to film,” Villalba said.
Frederick Frazier, first vice president of the Dallas Police Association, said a rash of incidents involving police officers antagonized on the job prompted the bill. They were dangerous situations, “almost like a setup to try to get officers to do something stupid,” he said.
“Ultimately the officer is ... going to be disciplined, ridiculed on social media and possibly killed,” Frazier said.
But opposition to the bill was swift, and came from “far-left civil libertarians to our far-right people who believe that we were somehow limiting First Amendment rights,” Villalba said.
Last month, Villalba received attention for blocking several people on social media who asked questions about the bill. Those included a student journalist from Brookhaven College.
Villalba told The Dallas Morning News that he instructed his staff to block “trolls” who threatened him and his family after the bill received media attention. Some of those communications were death threats, Villalba said, causing him to request heightened security.
In an email exchange received by The News after a public information request, Villalba coached his district director, Christine Mojezati, on how to handle the negative feedback.
“Delete all voice mails without listening to them. Do not answer the phones today. Leave the office and work from home if you like,” one of his emails instructed.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/state-politics/20150410-bill-to-limit-filming-of-police-activity-is-dropped.ece
https://scontent-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10446006_351151115073908_6932048952948234868_n.jpg ?oh=672c7f714c95ef5c199980eab79f8d0a&oe=55AC5D90
Bill to limit filming of police activity is droppedDays after footage of a South Carolina police shooting refueled a national conversation, a Texas bill that would limit filming of police activity met its demise.
State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, confirmed Friday that he will not seek a public hearing for his bill, which would have made it illegal for a resident to film within 25 feet of police activity. Those carrying handguns would have been kept from photographing or recording police within 100 feet. The bill contains an exception for the news media.
The decision was weeks in the making and came after conferring with organizations including the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, Villalba said.
Charley Wilkison, executive director of CLEAT, called Villalba a “friend of law enforcement” whose bill was well-intended.
“He’s a young, talented legislator, and there’s no hard feelings on this end,” Wilkison said. “It’s just not needed.”
Villalba said the bill was initially proposed by the Dallas Police Association and the Texas Municipal Police Association.
“We thought when we wrote our bill that we were making it safe not only for the police officers by that [25-foot] buffer zone, but also for those individuals that are seeking to keep law enforcement accountable to give them a safe zone to film,” Villalba said.
Frederick Frazier, first vice president of the Dallas Police Association, said a rash of incidents involving police officers antagonized on the job prompted the bill. They were dangerous situations, “almost like a setup to try to get officers to do something stupid,” he said.
“Ultimately the officer is ... going to be disciplined, ridiculed on social media and possibly killed,” Frazier said.
But opposition to the bill was swift, and came from “far-left civil libertarians to our far-right people who believe that we were somehow limiting First Amendment rights,” Villalba said.
Last month, Villalba received attention for blocking several people on social media who asked questions about the bill. Those included a student journalist from Brookhaven College.
Villalba told The Dallas Morning News that he instructed his staff to block “trolls” who threatened him and his family after the bill received media attention. Some of those communications were death threats, Villalba said, causing him to request heightened security.
In an email exchange received by The News after a public information request, Villalba coached his district director, Christine Mojezati, on how to handle the negative feedback.
“Delete all voice mails without listening to them. Do not answer the phones today. Leave the office and work from home if you like,” one of his emails instructed.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/state-politics/20150410-bill-to-limit-filming-of-police-activity-is-dropped.ece