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Is it legal to video police and other first responders in Florida? It may get tough in 2025

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Is it legal to video police and other first responders in Florida? It may get tough in 2025


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As of 2025, it may become harder to take videos of law enforcement in Florida, even if they’re breaking the law themselves.

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A new law going into effect on Jan. 1 requires people to move back 25 feet if first responders, including law enforcement, verbally warn them to, while the responder is performing a legal duty. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis said this was in support of law enforcement officers and accused news media outlets of warping narratives about police for attention and “clicks.” 

Critics say it’s to prevent people from taking videos of law enforcement officers breaking the law or brutalizing people.

Here’s what to know.

What does SB 184, Impeding, Threatening, or Harassing First Responders, do?

SB 184 makes it illegal, after you have been verbally warned, to approach a first responder or remain within 25 feet while the responder is performing a legal duty with the intent to:

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  • Block or interfere with their ability to perform the duty
  • Threaten the first responders with physical harm
  • Harass the first responder

Violations will be a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail.

What does SB 184 define as ‘harassment’?

“Harassment” is defined as an action directed at a first responder that “intentionally causes substantial emotional distress in that first responder and serves no legitimate purpose.”

“Emotional distress,” “legitimate purpose” and which parties may decide if they apply were left undefined.

Rep. Angela Nixon, D-Jacksonville, introduced an amendment to clarify that “harass” did not include “asking a first responder questions out of concern, for the health, safety and well-being, of the person that is being responded to” and to stress that a person may still impede a first responder if they are breaking the law or using “unnecessary harm or excessive force.” The amendment failed.

What does SB 184 define as ‘first responders’?

First responders are defined here as law enforcement officers, correctional probation officers, firefighters and emergency medical care providers.

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Are you allowed to record or video police officers in Florida?

Yes. SB 184 does not prevent taking video or pictures of law enforcement in the course of their duties, but it does require you, if asked, to move 25 feet away, which can make shooting images or video much more difficult.

An amendment from Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, D-Ocoee, which would have defined “the peaceful audio or video recording, photographing, or eyewitness observing of a first responder” as a legitimate purpose, failed to pass.

So did Nixon’s other proposed amendment to change the name of the bill to “The I Don’t Want the World to See the Police Kill an Unarmed Innocent Man Like George Floyd Again, So I Want To Protect Bad Cops and Violate Free Speech Act.”

How did police videos cause the Black Lives Matter protest movement to go worldwide?

Davis’ amendment referred to the video shot of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a police officer in 2020.

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The video, and many others shot by bystanders and witnesses, were widely shared online and contributed to the massive widespread Black Lives Matter protests that year by making more Americans aware of incidents of police brutality that otherwise may have gone unnoticed. 

Darnella Frazier, the then-17-year-old girl who videoed Floyd’s murder, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation.

Why was SB 184 necessary?

DeSantis said when he signed the bill that the legislation “recognizes we’ve got some strange currents going on in our society right now that really seek to delegitimize law enforcement,” accusing news media outlets of warping narratives about police for attention and “clicks” and citing media coverage of the controversial police killing of Dexter Reed in Chicago.

Officers fired 96 shots in 41 seconds at Reed during a traffic stop, reportedly over Reed not wearing a seatbelt. A citizen review board questioned both the validity of the stop and the order of events — they say it’s unclear who shot first — and questioned the appropriateness of deadly force in the response. Bodycam footage showed one officer emptying his pistol multiple times at Reed, even after Reed was motionless on the ground.

“You shouldn’t be in a situation where you’re at a traffic stop, you’re responding to a call of someone in distress, and then you have people come trying to interdict or trying to harass you from performing your duty,” DeSantis said. “We view that as a problem, and now you’re going to be held accountable.”

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Critics questioned the bill, saying it would be open to First Amendment challenges and prevent recordings of police misconduct and brutality.



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Deadly July 4th shooting arrest; South Florida man accused of Miami stabbing attack

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Deadly July 4th shooting arrest; South Florida man accused of Miami stabbing attack


A South Florida man has been charged for a stabbing attack, and in Hollywood, police have charged 21-year-old Devin Blunt with first-degree murder after a deadly July 4th shooting on Funston Street. Both Blunt and the victim, Williams, had traveled from North Carolina with friends. Williams died at the hospital about an hour after the incident.



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South Florida’s top deals: Davie school building sells for $16M

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South Florida’s top deals: Davie school building sells for M


🏆 Residential: The top home sale to hit records was in Pinecrest, where a home at 5865 Southwest 96th Street changed hands for $7.8 million. The sellers were Luis and Liz Messianu, who purchased the 7,800-square-foot property in 2024 for $7.3 million. The buyer was Bunny S Sunshine Haven LLC. The home went on the market in February for $8.2 million. Judith and Nathan Zeder with Coldwell Banker Realty had the listing, and Dennis Carvajal with One Sotheby’s International Realty brought the buyer.

🏆 Commercial: The most expensive recorded commercial deal was in Davie, where a school building sold for $16 million at 3367 North University Drive. The seller was 3367 N University Holdings LLC; the buyer was JSI N University LLC. The building measures about 46,000 square feet. 

📊 Residential: Matthew and Nadia Weaver purchased a newly built home at 299 Northeast Seventh Street in Boca Raton for $6.8 million. The seller was a company managed by Marco Capoccia. Built this year, the home measures 5,800 square feet and has five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. The sale breaks down to about $1,200 per square foot. Jacqueline Feldman with One Sotheby’s International Realty represented both sides of the transaction.

If you like this digest, you can get it even earlier — every evening — by subscribing to TRD Data, here.

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Why the Red Sox are sending Roman Anthony to Florida (and to another doctor) – The Boston Globe

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Why the Red Sox are sending Roman Anthony to Florida (and to another doctor) – The Boston Globe


ANAHEIM, Calif. — In sending Roman Anthony to Fort Myers, Fla., to continue his injury rehabilitation, the Red Sox have assigned him one blunt goal: Make it back to Boston.

The geographic reassignment is “a very good opportunity,” interim manager Chad Tracy said, for Anthony to not have to deal with much other than figuring out a way to return from a partially torn ligament in his right ring finger, which continues to impact his hand/wrist — and, thus, his ability to swing a bat.

“His focus, a singular focus now, is if you’re in Florida, it’s to get yourself healthy and not have to deal with all the other stuff that goes with it,” Tracy said before Sunday night’s series finale against the Angels. “So it’s a singular focus, very focused on getting himself healthy and getting back to us.

“We want him. We want him in the lineup. So I’m going to keep in touch with him frequently and see how he’s doing, with the hope that we get him back.”

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And “other stuff” refers to what?

“Just the day-to-day of being at Fenway,” Tracy said. “He’s going to get asked questions about it constantly. And for him being there, his focus is on one thing right now: That’s get yourself healthy.”

When Tracy first mentioned Saturday that the Sox decided Anthony would be based out of their Fenway South spring training/minor league facility indefinitely, he presented it as logistical. The home clubhouse at Fenway had grown crowded because of the number of injured players, he said, so moving Anthony was a way to open space — as the Sox had done with a handful of pitchers previously.

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On Sunday, Tracy added: “It’s also a very good opportunity for him to go and get away from” the “other stuff.”

Anthony has been out since May 4, when he got hurt on a seemingly random swing.

Nine weeks later, he has not resumed a hitting program as he and the Sox navigate the highly unusual baseball injury.

This week, Anthony will visit a new doctor: Gary Lourie in Atlanta. Lourie is a hand specialist, the Braves’ head team physician, and a partner at The Hand & Upper Extremity Center of Georgia.

“Just for peace of mind,” Tracy said. “I expect we’re going to be in a good spot. But really just about getting him in a spot where he can focus each day on just pounding away at getting that hand healthy.”

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Casas set back again

The latest in the plight of Triston Casas: He has suffered from a wrist issue in recent days, Tracy said, so he is shut down from hitting again.

The Red Sox will “check on that” before letting Casas resume anything bat-related, per Tracy.

For Casas, 26, it is another in a string of injuries. He hasn’t played since having knee surgery 14 months ago, and for the past three months he had been trying to return from an abdominal issue.

“He’s gone through a lot,” Tracy said. “Between the knee, he had a little hamstring flareup, obviously the oblique, and then he’s coming back from that, and now there’s a wrist that’s popped up.

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“So, just dealing with different things. Having not played in a while, things have popped up. So we’ll keep an eye on him, and once he’s able to, keep progressing as we can.”

Early update

Connelly Early’s second opinion, also this week, will be with Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, the team said. Meister is a leading orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon who specializes in elbow problems.

Following his early exit Tuesday, Early got an MRI and was diagnosed with posterior elbow inflammation but no structural damage, the Red Sox said Wednesday.

Singling out Seigler

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Anthony Seigler batted leadoff for the fourth time in five games. Tracy called him “a logical choice for it” because of his ability to swing at strikes, not swing at balls, and work lengthy at-bats. “He puts the bat on the ball,” Tracy said, “and help hopefully get the game started off right for us” … Masataka Yoshida was the DH, just his second start in a stretch of seven games (amid a run of the Sox facing more lefthanded starters than usual) … The Sox’ next rotation decision is Thursday. They could go with Sonny Gray (on turn), Patrick Sandoval (for his long-awaited team debut), or somebody else against the White Sox.


Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com. Follow him @timbhealey.





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