The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) received 219 chokehold complaints from the period between July 2013 and June 2014. It showed that complaints have increased on the New York Police Department's use of chokeholds for the past 12 months, compared to the 200 complaints recorded each year between 2006 and 2010.
A chokehold, as defined by the NYPD, is anything that puts pressure to a person's throat, which causes a prevention in one's breathing. In the past years, the police department subjected only those officers who have interfered with the person's breathing to a corresponding disciplinary measure.
The NYPD's use of force received massive criticism in recent months after being involved in a deadly police restraining action against Eric Garner in July. Garner's arrest for the reason of selling untaxed cigarettes was filmed in a video by an onlooker. He died while an officer pinned him down even though he was heard saying the words "I can't breathe." The office of the medical examiner ruled that Garner's death is a homicide case.
New York police started to ban the chokehold in 1993. In simplified wording, police officers are warned to "stay away from the neck."
According to a 140-page report, there were 156 incidents of chokehold that were never classified as chokehold cases by the CCRB. Instead, these cases were only classified as the use of physical force. This shows how the Patrol Guide chokehold prohibition was given a degraded interpretation by some of the investigative teams of the CCRB.
The report, which was released upon the death of Eric Garner, indicates that there is a "need for the NYPD to re-evaluate its disciplinary proceedings in an effort to better enforce the chokehold prohibition and hold officers accountable," said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Most chokehold allegations involve encounters on the street where activities in a police precinct are busy. Such encounters usually occur in the late evening until the early morning hours. Several instances were also noted on Fridays and Saturdays, when more crimes are committed, thereby causing an increase in police activity.
The report thus concludes that the oversight board and the police department should work together on reviving the original chokehold prohibition that was outlined in 1993.
"If there is one lesson to be learned from this study, one lesson that may even save lives, it is the need for a coordinated plan of action between the Civilian Complaint Review Board and the NYPD," said CCRB chair Richard Emery, who applauds the efforts made by the NYPD.
