Key Observations

• Police chokeholds that may have been deemed excessive under the “malicious and sadistic” test are now allowed under the vague and capricious test of objective reasonableness. Under the current reasonableness standard, people have been killed or needlessly injured as a result of police use of excessive force.
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• The death of George Floyd resulting from an applied chokehold by a Minneapolis police officer has prompted many cities and states to move toward banning chokeholds or limiting them to cases where the use of deadly force may be warranted. Critical to implementing the most appropriate chokehold policy is a standard on the extent and degree to which they should exist. As stated by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, “While there are guidelines, there is not a universal set of rules governing law enforcement’s use of force policies”.
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• We support a zero-tolerance chokehold approach. A chokehold ban will help move us further toward eliminating racially motivated police violence and reducing the historical and national tensions/distrust between minority communities and police agencies.