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Utah House Votes Down Bill That Would've Sanctioned Bystanders Who Don't Call 911

Julia Ritchey
/
KUER
Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake, argues for his bill during House floor time on Feb. 12.

A bill that would have stiffened penalties for people who fail to call 911 in an emergency failed in the House on Monday after a lengthy debate.

House Minority Leader Brian King called H.B. 125 “extraordinarily topical.” He said there are news reports nearly every day in which bystanders fail to do the right thing. For instance, not reporting serial predators to authorities — such as the recent case of Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor convicted of sexually abusing 150 female athletes.

“Certainly someone in the decades that this was going on knew or had good reason to know he was inflicting bodily injury on these young athletes that he was dealing with," he said. "They should have, could have stepped up earlier and dealt with this situation —  that’s what we want to encourage in this state.”

His bill would have made it a class B misdemeanor for a person who fails to assist in a crime or emergency.  

But several lawmakers expressed reservations during floor debate. Rep. Merrill Nelson, R-Grantsville, a practicing lawyer, said the bill was a significant departure from existing law.

“Our criminal law should not stretch and reach so far as to impose criminal penalties for not being a good person.”

 

"This seems like the reverse [of Good Samaritan laws]," said Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Sandy, also in opposition. "It seems like mandatory Good Samaritan with criminal consequences." 

The House voted 51-20 against moving forward on the legislation.

 

Julia joined KUER in 2016 after a year reporting at the NPR member station in Reno, Nev. During her stint, she covered battleground politics, school overcrowding, and any story that would take her to the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe. Her work earned her two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Originally from the mountains of Western North Carolina, Julia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in journalism. She’s worked as both a print and radio reporter in several states and several countries — from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Dakar, Senegal. Her curiosity about the American West led her to take a spontaneous, one-way road trip to the Great Basin, where she intends to continue preaching the gospel of community journalism, public radio and podcasting. In her spare time, you’ll find her hanging with her beagle Bodhi, taking pictures of her food and watching Patrick Swayze movies.
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