“Blue Lives Matter” law extends safeguards to police in Louisiana
By
Aaron Asa
2 February 2017
Louisiana’s new “Blue Lives Matter” law, signed into law last year by Democratic Party Governor John Bel Edwards, is already being used to provide cover for police and extend harsher penalties on the accused.
The so-called “Blue Lives Matter” bill effectively extends extra protections to police and public safety professionals under existing hate-crime laws. These laws, implemented in states throughout the country, are meant to dole out harsher penalties for crimes committed against citizens based on race, gender or religion. Louisiana is the first state to enact a law that includes police officers as a “protected class.”
Recent comments made by St. Martinville parish police chief Calder Hebert reveal the true extent to which this reactionary law will be used to persecute poor and working class citizens.
“Resisting an officer or battery of a police officer was just that charge, simply. But now, Governor Edwards, in the legislation, made it a hate crime now,” said Hebert. “We need the police and the public to work together. The policemen have a job. The public has the job of helping the police. And if someone happens to be involved in criminal activity, let the courts handle it. Don’t resist physically.”
The implications of increased penalties tacked onto the crime of “resisting arrest” sets a dangerous precedent, as this particular charge has long been abused to unjustly prosecute alleged criminals. For his part, Edwards has stated that resisting arrest does not specifically constitute a hate crime under the new law, but he has launched no investigation into Hebert’s statements and stands by the law as written.
Hebert’s words reflect a…