Minneapolis moves to ban the chokehold
The Minneapolis city council on Friday voted to end use of chokeholds and neck restraints like that used by a police officer who pressed his knee into the neck of George Floyd, sparking coast-to-coast protests.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would end state police training in carotid restraints similar to the technique used on Floyd, a 46- year- old black man, by former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin while three officers stood by and watched as Floyd died after pleading for his life.
The Minneapolis police fired all four officers. Chauvin has been charged with second- degree murder and the other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder. The incident on May 25 has communities across the United States reconsidering use of such restraints.
The Minneapolis decision came in response to a Minnesota state human rights complaint against the city. In a proposed court order that must be approved by a judge, the Minneapolis city council said it would ban all chokeholds and neck holds, and require any member of the police department to immediately report any unauthorized use of force by an officer.
“Black, Indigenous, and communities of colour have suffered generational pain and trauma as a result of systemic and institutional racism and long-standing problems in policing,” said the proposed order which council approved unanimously.
Floyd’s autopsy confirmed he died from cardiopulmonary arrest. It also cited “complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.”
The report listed several additional factors as “significant conditions” contributing to Floyd’s death, including heart disease, high blood pressure and intoxication from the powerful opioid fentanyl, as well as recent methamphetamine use.
San Diego County in California this week also banned the carotid restraint, in which an officer blocks the flow of blood to a detainee’s brain, leading to unconsciousness.
Many police departments have ended the use of socalled chokeholds, which put pressure on a detainee’s windpipe, but have still allowed carotid restraints.