• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • Improve your pistol-handling skills
      What you need to know about automatic license plate readers
      Do cops need more training?
      Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner
      Seeking the right kind of help
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • San Diego County Sheriff’s Department unveils new night-flying...
        Toddler fires mom’s gun inside Ohio Walmart store
        Heroic K-9 unit honored at National Dog Show for role in capturing...
        NYPD reports surge in hate crimes against New York’s Jewish...
        Law enforcement cracks down on illegal sale of “gas station...
    • Labor
      • LAPD union files lawsuit against city over delayed pay raises
        “You can’t play politics with public safety”
        “It’s going to be extremely painful for New Yorkers”
        California Highway Patrol officers set to receive significant salary...
        Seattle City Council approves new agreement with police union
    • Tech
      • NYPD explores cutting-edge drone detection vehicle to enhance city...
        The use of military assets by U.S. police
        What you need to know about automatic license plate readers
        Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner
        North Carolina schools, businesses to beef up active shooter security...
    • Training
      • Ballistic shields in patrol operations
        Four things you need to know to control escalation
        Series of fires in Los Angeles County Sheriff’s mobile shooting...
        Using learning factors to influence your performance
        Lancaster Police Department introduces agility course in recruitment...
    • Policy
      • Federal court rules Pennsylvania township’s ban on thin blue line...
        Texas House passes controversial immigration bill
        Supreme Court rejects Derek Chauvin’s appeal in George Floyd killing
        Ohio lawmaker proposes legislation to allocate marijuana sales tax...
        All courage is not physical
    • Health/Wellness
      • Harnessing our strength: Post-traumatic growth
        Scientifically proven ways for cops to thrive
        The depression–anger cycle
        What does it mean to be a sheepdog?
        Depression screening
    • Community
      • Off-duty first responders save friend’s life after he experiences...
        New Jersey departments unite for No Shave November
        The nobility of serving
        “The smile is a universal language”
        THC-infused candy incident raises safety concerns in California city
    • Offbeat
      • Jewelry store heist ends in high-speed chase and mystifying response...
        Massachusetts community steps in to protect black bear “Pumpkin”...
        Florida moms call cops on school librarians for distributing...
        Authorities seize whopping $8.5 million worth of psychedelic...
        12-year-old car thief takes SUV on wild joyride across NYC
    • We Remember
      • Birmingham community mourns passing of its first Black police...
        “For those who suffered in silence and were lost”
        “You’re my hero”
        Manhattan Beach police officer and Las Vegas shooting survivor...
        Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
  • On the Job
    • San Diego County Sheriff’s Department unveils new night-flying...
      Toddler fires mom’s gun inside Ohio Walmart store
      Heroic K-9 unit honored at National Dog Show for role in capturing...
      NYPD reports surge in hate crimes against New York’s Jewish...
      Law enforcement cracks down on illegal sale of “gas station...
  • Labor
    • LAPD union files lawsuit against city over delayed pay raises
      “You can’t play politics with public safety”
      “It’s going to be extremely painful for New Yorkers”
      California Highway Patrol officers set to receive significant salary...
      Seattle City Council approves new agreement with police union
  • Tech
    • NYPD explores cutting-edge drone detection vehicle to enhance city...
      The use of military assets by U.S. police
      What you need to know about automatic license plate readers
      Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner
      North Carolina schools, businesses to beef up active shooter security...
  • Training
    • Ballistic shields in patrol operations
      Four things you need to know to control escalation
      Series of fires in Los Angeles County Sheriff’s mobile shooting...
      Using learning factors to influence your performance
      Lancaster Police Department introduces agility course in recruitment...
  • Policy
    • Federal court rules Pennsylvania township’s ban on thin blue line...
      Texas House passes controversial immigration bill
      Supreme Court rejects Derek Chauvin’s appeal in George Floyd killing
      Ohio lawmaker proposes legislation to allocate marijuana sales tax...
      All courage is not physical
  • Health/Wellness
    • Harnessing our strength: Post-traumatic growth
      Scientifically proven ways for cops to thrive
      The depression–anger cycle
      What does it mean to be a sheepdog?
      Depression screening
  • Community
    • Off-duty first responders save friend’s life after he experiences...
      New Jersey departments unite for No Shave November
      The nobility of serving
      “The smile is a universal language”
      THC-infused candy incident raises safety concerns in California city
  • Offbeat
    • Jewelry store heist ends in high-speed chase and mystifying response...
      Massachusetts community steps in to protect black bear “Pumpkin”...
      Florida moms call cops on school librarians for distributing...
      Authorities seize whopping $8.5 million worth of psychedelic...
      12-year-old car thief takes SUV on wild joyride across NYC
  • We Remember
    • Birmingham community mourns passing of its first Black police...
      “For those who suffered in silence and were lost”
      “You’re my hero”
      Manhattan Beach police officer and Las Vegas shooting survivor...
      Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
  • Between the Lines
    • Debunking the perpetual narrative of racial bias in policing
      The unspoken truth behind the recruitment and retention crisis
      The police reform goal: use of force without options
      The imprisonment of law enforcement technology
      Persecution of the LEO is classic schadenfreude
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Policy

Kentucky Senate bill makes it a crime to verbally provoke police

APB Team Published March 13, 2021 @ 3:00 pm PST

iStock.com/jacoblund

Kentucky’s Senate introduced a new bill that would make it a criminal offense to insult or verbally provoke a police officer.

According to CBS News, Senate Bill 211 mandates up to three months’ imprisonment, a fine of $250, and disqualification of public assistance benefits to those convicted of insulting, taunting, or “challenging” a police officer with provocative words, gestures, or physical contact that would “have a direct tendency to provoke a violent response from the perspective of a reasonable and prudent person.”

Supporters of the bill see it as a response to the riots that spread across the country last summer, including in Louisville, which was the center of protests following the death of Breonna Taylor. The bill is intended to target protestors who “cross the line” and commit unlawful acts that may turn a protest into a riot.

Republican Senator David Carroll, lead sponsor of the bill and retired police officer, told the Louisville Courier-Journal, “This is not about lawful protest in any way, shape, form or fashion. This country was built on lawful protest, and it’s something that we must maintain — our citizens’ right to do so. What this deals with are those who cross the line and commit criminal acts.”

The bill also contains a provision that pushes back on the “defund the police” movement, stating that government entities that fund law enforcement must “maintain and improve their respective financial support.”

The bill now heads to the full Senate after being passed by the Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee in a 7-3 vote. After, it will move to the House to be voted on. Both chambers of Kentucky’s legislature are controlled by Republicans.

Opposition to the bill, headed by Democrat David Yates and the ACLU, argue that it violates First Amendment rights and will be used to quash protests.

The ACLU of Kentucky tweeted, “SB211 is an extreme bill to stifle dissent,” and “criminalizes free speech.”

Yates dismissed the bill, telling the Louisville Courier-Journal, “I don’t believe that any of my good officers are going to be provoked to a violent response because somebody does a ‘yo mama’ joke, or whatnot.”

In response, Carroll said that police have to be able to react to disrespectful behavior to prevent riots from escalating.

“In these riots, you see people getting up in officers’ faces, yelling in their ears, doing everything they can to provoke a violent response,” Carroll said. “I’m not saying the officers do that, but there has to be a provision within that statute to allow officers to react to that. Because that does nothing but incite those around that vicinity and it furthers and escalates the riotous behavior.”

Categories: Policy

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • San Diego County Sheriff’s Department unveils new night-flying firefighting helicopter
  • Toddler fires mom’s gun inside Ohio Walmart store
  • Federal court rules Pennsylvania township’s ban on thin blue line flag unconstitutional
  • LAPD union files lawsuit against city over delayed pay raises
  • Texas House passes controversial immigration bill
  • “You can’t play politics with public safety”
  • “It’s going to be extremely painful for New Yorkers”
  • Off-duty first responders save friend’s life after he experiences cardiac emergency in Massachusetts jiu-jitsu class
  • California Highway Patrol officers set to receive significant salary increase for second straight year
  • Supreme Court rejects Derek Chauvin’s appeal in George Floyd killing

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Improve your pistol-handling skills

Improve your pistol-handling skills

October 21, 2023

What you need to know about automatic license plate readers

What you need to know about automatic license plate readers

October 20, 2023

Do cops need <em>more</em> training?

Do cops need more training?

October 17, 2023

Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner

Why every agency needs a polygraph examiner

October 16, 2023

Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Options | Notice at Collection | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.