New York’s highest court on Monday upheld a New York City law that forbids police from using chokeholds or compressing a person’s diaphragm during an arrest, rejecting a challenge from police unions to a law passed after the death of George Floyd.
Quick Read
- New York Court Upholds Chokehold Ban:
- New York’s highest court affirmed NYC law banning police chokeholds and diaphragm compression.
- The decision was unanimous, clarifying that the law is consistent with existing state regulations.
- Law’s Background:
- NYC’s law was passed following George Floyd’s death in 2020, part of nationwide measures limiting police use of chokeholds.
- Floyd died after a Minneapolis officer kneeled on his neck, sparking widespread protests and reforms.
- Police Union Challenge:
- Police unions, including the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, contested the law as vague.
- They argued for clarity on permissible actions during arrests.
- Response to Court Ruling:
- Police union spokesperson John Nuthall acknowledged the clarity brought by the court’s decision.
- The ruling specifies requirements for proving a violation: intentional action impeding breathing and unjustified use of force.
- Existing NYPD and State Policies:
- NYPD had already prohibited chokeholds before the city law.
- New York state law, named after Eric Garner who died from a police chokehold in 2014, also bans police chokeholds.
- Additional Provisions in City Law:
- The law includes clauses against diaphragm compression, addressing the risks posed by kneeling or sitting on a person’s chest or back.
The Associated Press has the story:
NY high court upholds City’s prohibition on police chokeholds, diaphragm compression
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
New York’s highest court on Monday upheld a New York City law that forbids police from using chokeholds or compressing a person’s diaphragm during an arrest, rejecting a challenge from police unions to a law passed after the death of George Floyd.
The New York Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the law is clear in its language and that it does not conflict with an existing state law that bans police from using chokes.
The city’s law came as governments across the country prohibited or severely limited the use of chokeholds or similar restraints by police following Floyd’s death in 2020, which occurred as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, along with other law enforcement unions, sued the city over its law and have argued that its language is vague as to what officers are allowed to do during an arrest. In a statement, John Nuthall, a spokesman for the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, said the ruling will provide clarity to officers.
“While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, the Court’s decision is a victory insofar that it will provide our officers with greater certainty when it comes to the statute, because under this Court’s decision, it must be proven at a minimum that an officer’s action in fact ‘impedes the person’s ability to breathe,’ was ‘not accidental,’ and was not a ‘justifiable use of physical force,’” Nuthall said.
The New York Police Department has long barred its officers from using chokeholds to subdue people. New York state also has a law banning police chokeholds that was named after Eric Garner, who was killed when a New York Police Department officer placed him in a chokehold in 2014.
The city’s law, while banning chokes, also includes a provision that forbids officers from compressing a person’s diaphragm. Such a compression, though kneeling, sitting or standing on a person’s chest or back, can make it difficult to breathe.
