You could face $1,000 fine, jail time for standing too close to Nassau first responders under 'zone of protection' bill

Nassau County legislators will vote on a new bill that would make it illegal to stand within 15 feet of first responders while performing their duties, a move some experts are calling unconstitutional.

The First Responder Zone of Protection Act, introduced this week by the GOP-dominated legislature, would mandate a buffer zone between civilians and police officers, firefighters, emergency responders and probation officers to protect them from "threats, harassment, and physical interference" while on the job. If people ignore a warning to step back, they would face a misdemeanor charge punishable by a $1,000 fine, 1 year in prison or both.

"We believe it is essential to implement policies that protect our first responders and safeguard those in their care, ensuring that everyone involved in an emergency response is supported and protected," Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) wrote in a statement to Newsday.

Kopel added that two GOP legislators played a critical role in introducing the bill: Legis. Scott Strauss (R-Mineola), a volunteer firefighter and retired NYPD detective, and Legis. Patrick Mullaney (R-Long Beach), a lieutenant in the FDNY.

The bill has bipartisan support from Legis. Seth Koslow (D-Merrick), the Democratic challenger to Nassau Executive Bruce Blakeman in the November election. "This measure would provide another layer of protection for our police and first responders by giving them the clear authority to establish reasonable boundaries as they perform their lawful duties," he wrote in a statement to Newsday.

The proposed Nassau bill extends beyond an existing state law that punishes anyone who interferes with first responders with a similar penalty: 1 year in jail, 3 years of probation or a $1,000 fine. While the state law accounts for bad behavior, the local bill creates a much-needed 15-foot "safety zone" around first responders, Kopel said.

Kermit Roosevelt, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and former Supreme Court clerk, questioned the need for this zone of protection — characterizing the bill as likely unconstitutional.

"This law ... prevents someone from approaching a person being questioned by the police in order to hand them a leaflet, which is classic First Amendment activity, especially if conducted on the streets and sidewalks," Roosevelt said.

Without legitimate reason for such a law, Roosevelt asserts that "either [police] don’t want you seeing what they’re doing or they don’t want you talking to someone."

Louisiana passed a bill last year outlawing people from coming within 25 feet of police after being ordered to step back. A federal judge last month blocked the law, writing that it violated the 14th Amendment and could impair a reporter's First Amendment right to film police and gather news. Federal judges have struck down similar laws in Arizona and Indiana.

"The threat of arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement is great," U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles wrote in the Louisiana case.

The nation has long grappled with similar "buffer zones" around abortion clinics, weighing a protester’s right to free speech against the right to access an abortion. In 1996, the Supreme Court evaluated a law similar to the one proposed in Nassau in Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York, Roosevelt said.

A court barred people from coming within 15 feet of abortion clinic patients, also known as a "floating buffer zone" — similar to the one proposed in Nassau. But the Supreme Court struck the ruling down, claiming it violated the First Amendment by "restricting more speech than necessary."

"Floating buffer zones offer yet another way for police to keep their activities hidden from public scrutiny," Justin Harrison, senior policy counsel at the NYCLU, wrote in a statement to Newsday.

"Laws that make it harder to monitor the police don’t make anybody safer — in reality, they violate the Constitution, run counter to government transparency principles, and foster distrust in law enforcement."