Police officers in downtown Tucson on June 24, 2022.
Gage Judd/AZPM
A federal judge in Phoenix has blocked enforcement of a new Arizona law restricting the filming of police.
U.S. District Judge John Tuchi agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union and multiple media organizations that the law appeared to violate the First Amendment.
He issued a preliminary injunction Friday.
The law was slated to take effect Sept. 24.
Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and the prosecutor and sheriff’s office in Maricopa County told the judge they would not defend the law.
The judge gave the Legislature a week to decide if it will do so.
Bystander cellphone videos are largely credited with revealing police misconduct and reshaping the conversation around police transparency.
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