Indiana Turns the Tide - OK to use Force AGAINST ILLEGAL Police Entry

NDIANAPOLIS —
Although he said it was a "close call" that took days of consideration,

Gov. Mitch Daniels signed into law a measure that gives Hoosiers the right to use force to resist police officers who illegally enter their homes.

The new law is a reversal from last year's controversial Indiana
Supreme Court decision. Advocates called it an effort to protect against
rogue police – although Daniels acknowledged that the law might create
perception problems.

"In the real world, there will almost never be a situation in which
these extremely narrow conditions are met. So as a matter of law, law
enforcement officers will be better protected than before, not less so,"
Daniels said.

"What is troubling to law enforcement officers, and to me, is the
chance that citizens hearing reports of change will misunderstand what
the law says."

It was the only bill the Indiana General Assembly passed during the
2012 legislative session that the Republican governor was seriously
considering sending back with a veto. His signature means he rejected
nothing lawmakers sent him this year.

The issue was sparked by the state high court's decision in the case
of Richard Barnes, an Evansville man who fought a police officer who
entered his house while responding to a call reporting a domestic
dispute.

The 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."

The new law only gives Hoosiers the right to resist officers who they
believe are acting unlawfully. Using deadly force against an officer is
only protected to prevent serious bodily injury.

Groups such as the Fraternal Order of Police and other law
enforcement organizations had lobbied against the measure. Rep. Linda
Lawson, the No. 2-ranking House Democrat and a former police officer,
said it will create "open season on law enforcement."

In a statement announcing his decision to sign Senate Enrolled Act 1,
Daniels sought to underscore that the law does not create what some
opponents said would be an open season on law enforcement officers.

"Today is an important day to say: Indiana's outstanding law
enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect
all Hoosiers. The right thing to do is cooperate with them in every way
possible. This law is not an invitation to use violence or force against
law enforcement officers," he said.

"In fact, it restricts when an individual can use force, specifically
deadly force, on an officer, so don't try anything. Chances are
overwhelming you will be breaking the law and wind up in far worse
trouble as a result."

In the waning days of this year's session, lawmakers complained that
the measure had become dramatized. House Speaker Brian Bosma,
R-Indianapolis, said what lawmakers did was write a jury instruction.

Still, Daniels took meetings this week with advocates and opponents,
and said the law's message is something to consider. "It's a close
call," he said.

Here is the other side of the coin:

Any true American, whether wearing a badge or not, would refuse to participate in such an invasion.

First TSA stoping people on the road and now police breaking into peoples homes...

Doesn't sound good to me.