LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- Sergeant Robin Green with the Lafayette Police Department brings awareness to a law in place that prevents bystanders from interfering with law enforcement while they are conducting an investigation.

“Whenever we are on a crime scene or an active police scene, if someone interferes with law enforcement investigations or hinders or impedes the officer from being able to perform his duties or his investigation. Right now, we fall under the obstruction code, which is Revised Statute 14:329," said Sergeant Green.

This statute can be used for multiple interferences. Sergeant Green highlights some examples which are refusal to move back when an officer orders you to do so. Physically blocking an officer's movement or ability to perform tasks that fall or any behavior that would divert an officer from his duties or impede him from doing a proper investigation. 

“We understand freedom of speech is protected, but aggressive or persistent verbal confrontations with the officer that’s intended to stop an officer from doing his job that also falls under obstruction and so even though the law didn't pass right now that it has been blocked by a federal judge, those examples I just gave kind of helps us out whenever we have innocent bystanders or bystanders that want to put themselves on our crime scene,” she said. 

There are different types of crime scenes where the law applies. One is the crime scene where you would see yellow tape. It’s usually for incidents, like a shooting or a homicide where the area taped off. Crossing that crime scene tape would fall on the obstruction.

Another is active police investigation scenes where patrol officers are either arresting someone or they are interviewing possible suspects and are trying to gather information. Bystanders will do certain things to stop that officer from doing his investigation.

Earlier this year a federal judge temporarily blocked the law which created a 25 ft. barrier for law enforcement. Green said if the law was in place, it would help because the public would have a more defined law to let people know space is needed. 

“Either way you look at it, whether it’s the obstruction or if it's the statute to have a certain distance where a person can come on to police,” she said. “A lot of times when officers are handcuffing an individual, they're not aware of their surroundings and so it's so easy for someone to come to your crime scene and either batter that officer or interfere with the handcuffing process and so by having this law, it helps us with our officer safety, and it just keeps everybody safe all the way around.” 

The law states, whoever violates the law shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

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