So What Is the Exact Definition of a Chokehold? According to the New York Law Journal, the NYPD first put limits on the use of chokeholds when Commissioner Benjamin Ward issued the following order in 1985: 1. Effective immediately, choke holds, which are potentially lethal and unnecessary, WILL NOT be routinely used by members of the New York City Police Department. 2. Choke holds will ONLY be used if the officer’s life is in danger or some other person’s life is in danger and the choke hold is the least dangerous alternative method of restraint available to the police officer. Eight years later, in 1993, the department issued an outright ban on chokeholds, adding this passage to its patrol guide after Federico Pereira, as suspected car thief, died of “traumatic asphyxia” while in police custody: Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air. (Emphasis added) “We are in the business of protecting life, not taking it,” Chief John F. Timoney said at the time.... And here’s how the NYPD patrol guide defined a chokehold, as recently as 2004: A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air… Whenever possible, members should make every effort to avoid tactics, such as sitting or standing on a subject’s chest, which may result in chest compression, thereby reducing the subject’s ability to breathe. But as the Washington Post discovered, civilian complaints against police officers involving chokeholds have averaged close to 200 per year in New York City over the last 13 years...
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 16:06:41 +0000