COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An incoming Ohio law will create a 15-foot buffer around police officers and other first responders while they are carrying out their duties, making it a crime to ignore warnings to stay back.
Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 20, sponsored by Reps. Thomas Hall (R-Dayton) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton), on July 7. Introduced in January 2025, the bill passed the House 79-18 in June 2025 and the Senate 29-2 in June 2026. It will go into effect in October.
The measure will prohibit people, after receiving a warning, from knowingly approaching or remaining within 15 feet of a first responder while interfering with the responder’s duties or threatening the responder with physical harm. Violators could face a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000…