Police Officers Can Sue Protestors in Nassau County

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By Briasia Russ Published: August 3, 2021

Police Officers Can Sue Protestors in Nassau County

People clash with police during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. Russian police on Saturday arrested hundreds of protesters who took to the streets in temperatures as low as minus-50 C (minus-58 F) to demand the release of Alexei Navalny, the country's top opposition figure. A Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent foe, was arrested on Jan. 17 when he returned to Moscow from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a severe nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

By Briasia Russ

Nassau County has approved a bill that enables a police officer to sue if harassed or injured by a protestor.

Although the bill protects the cops, what about free speech for citizens? ABC reports that civil rights activists argue the bill is payback for police brutality last year and would be a violation to free speech.

“This is intended to evoke fear in the community,” Civil rights lawyer Frederick Brewington said according to NBC New York. “This is payback. It’s not right. It’s not acceptable and it is against the law.”

Protestors who harass or injure an officer or other first responders have the possibility of being fined up to $25,000. The bill protests the cops under a human rights law— a status given based on religion, race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has not decided if she wants to sign the bill, WABC reports. “I will be making an inquiry to the Attorney General’s Office to review and provide some advice,” she told Newsday.