California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that no longer requires any “able-bodied person 18 years of age or older” in the state to help an officer who requests assistance during an arrest.
The old law, the California Posse Comitatus Act of 1872, was slammed by Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Los Angeles Democrat who sponsored the bill, as a “vestige of a bygone era.”
FOX News reports:
The old law made it a misdemeanor that carried a fine of up to $1,000 for refusing to help a police officer who requested assistance during an arrest.
The report said Newsom did not issue a statement after signing the bill.
The California State Sheriff’s Association said in a statement that it is “unconvinced that this statute should be repealed.”