13 Apr 2012 2:41 pm
Indiana Republicans Pass Law Making it Legal to Kill CopsRepublican Governor Mitch Daniels has signed Senate Enrolled Act 1 into law in Indiana. The new law allows citizens to use deadly force against police officers they think are illegally entering their homes.Earlier this month, Addicting Info reported that the bill had passed the Senate. Republicans say the bill is designed to keep police safe, but Democrats say the bill will lead to the wanton killing of police officers. Rep. Craig Fry, a Democrat, says the bill is going to cause people to die and its too late after somebody dies for a jury to sort it out. Somebodys going to die, whether its a police officer or an individual who thinks a police officer is entering their home unlawfully. People are going to die. Frys colleague, Democratic Rep. Linda Lawson, a former police captain, says the bill would create an open season on law enforcement, and it is opposed by 1,250 state police officers and 14,000 men and women in blue, brown and green. The new law reverses a state Supreme Court ruling that homeowners do not have the right to use force against law enforcement officials who they believe are illegally entering their homes. According to the Evansville Courier Press, an Evansville resident fought a police officer who followed him into his house during a domestic dispute call. The state Supreme Court found that officers sometimes enter homes without warrants for reasons protected by the law, such as pursuing suspects or preventing the destruction of evidence. In these situations, we find it unwise to allow a homeowner to adjudge the legality of police conduct in the heat of the moment, the court said. As we decline to recognize a right to resist unlawful police entry into a home, we decline to recognize a right to batter a police officer as a part of that resistance. While announcing his decision to sign the bill into law, Governor Daniels tried to claim that the law doesnt declare an open season on police officers.