First responder 15-foot distance bill tabled by Suffolk lawmakers out of concerns for legality

Suffolk County lawmakers tabled a bill Tuesday that would give police officers, firefighters and other first responders the authority to tell civilians to move at least 15 feet from them, citing concerns about the legality of the proposal.

Police union officials and a Setauket fire commissioner urged the Suffolk County Legislature to pass the bill at a public hearing in Hauppauge, saying it would protect both first responders and the public, shortly before its sponsor, Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, called for the measure to be recessed.

"I know some of my colleagues had some concerns about the law," said McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst). "We’re going to do some legal research to make sure we are on firm footing."

The First Responder Safety Zone Act, a mirror image of a bill approved by the Nassau County Legislature in April, gives police officers, firefighters, emergency responders and probation officers the power to order civilians to move at least 15 feet away from them at crime scenes, fires and other emergency sites. People who fail to move face a $1,000 fine, a year in prison or both.

The bill includes language that says it does not prohibit individuals from recording or photographing first responders, and McCaffrey said the intent is to provide first responders with the room to do their jobs, not hinder the press or public’s right to observe and record officials.

"This is about protecting our first responders and the people they are trying to help," McCaffrey said.

But Hofstra University Law professor Eric M. Freedman said the measure won’t survive legal challenges as written. "If there is any kind of overly broad definition that goes beyond physical obstruction, it’s not going to stand up," Freedman said.

Civilians are not allowed to do anything that physically interferes with first responders' ability to perform their duties, he said. "That has to be written in some neutral and objective term, not that the officer feels uncomfortable being observed," said Freedman, who teaches constitutional law.

Suffolk police did not respond to requests for comment about the bill and Michael Martino, a spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, declined to discuss the proposal.

A spokeswoman for Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said the office has not prosecuted anyone for violating the First Responder Zone of Protection Act since its approval in April.

C.J. Hutter, the treasurer of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, said officers have been subjected to people screaming in their faces for videos designed to get clicks on social media "and are expected to just take it."

"We’ve seen clickbait on social media where people are going toward police officers with doughnuts on a fishing pole and saying they are fishing for cops and getting in the way of police officers," Hutter said at Tuesday’s hearing.

Miguel Vias, second vice president of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, told lawmakers at Tuesday’s hearing the measure will help officers keep antagonists at bay while performing traffic stops and other duties. Susanne Meyers, a Setauket Fire District commissioner, testified that even well-meaning bystanders can hinder operations, putting firefighters and the public at risk.

Fred Klein, also a law professor at Hofstra, said he doesn’t believe the bill violates First Amendment rights, since it does not bar journalists or the public from photographing, recording or observing first responders. "I don’t see a constitutional problem with it," said Klein, the former head of the Nassau District Attorney’s Major Offenses Bureau.

But Denise Civiletti, vice president of the Press Club of Long Island, said the vague language of the bill gives individual first responders — who may not be aware of the rights of journalists or the public to observe official actions — too much discretion.

"Existing law gives the police the ability to deal with obstructive behavior," Civiletti said. "It seems like its intent is shielding law enforcement from public scrutiny."

Emily Kaufman, of Long Island United to Transform Policing and Community Safety, a police reform advocacy group, also expressed fears the bill was an attempt to erode the public’s right to observe first responders. She said Suffolk’s Black and Latino communities could be disproportionately impacted by the bill.

"It’s incredibly disappointing," she said. "It’s a solution without a problem."