Andrew Cuomo signs police reform package banning chokeholds in New York

New law creates criminal penalties if officer uses neck restraint and causes serious physical injury or death

New York Gov Andrew Cuomo speaks during the daily media briefing at the Office of the Governor of the State of New York on 12 June (Getty Images)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law a police reform agenda that includes the banning of chokeholds in the state.

Mr Cuomo signed the 'Say Their Name' agenda package, which will bring into effect a series of police reforms, on Friday.

The legislation includes a number of provisions including banning chokeholds by law enforcement officers, prohibiting false race-based 911 reports, and designating the Attorney General as an independent prosecutor for matters relating to the civilian deaths.

The agenda also repealed section 50A of the civil rights law to allow for transparency of prior disciplinary records of law enforcement officers.

The governor called the signing a "historic day" on Twitter.

The signing of the bill follows two weeks of national unrest over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in custody in Minneapolis after a white police officer pinned him to the ground with his neck for more than eight minutes.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the country and across the world have participated in demonstrations calling for an end to systemic racism, police brutality and discrimination against black people.

“The murder of George Floyd was just the tipping point of the systemic injustice and discrimination that has been going on in our nation for decades, if not centuries,” Mr Cuomo said.

“These are issues that the country has been talking about for a long time, and these nation-leading reforms will make long overdue changes to our policing and criminal justice systems while helping to restore community confidence in law enforcement.”

Activists and officials who had worked towards the enactment of the bill were present at the briefing, including the mothers of Sean Bell and Eric Garner, who were both killed by New York police.

“The horrific murder of George Floyd, the most recent in a long list of innocent people like Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Tony McDade, and so many more, has led to a rightful outpouring of grief and anger", said Andrew Stewart-Cousins, the New York senate majority leader.

“Black New Yorkers, like all residents of this state, deserve to know that their rights, and lives, are valued and protected by our justice system. The legislation that will be signed today will help stop bad actors and send a clear message that brutality, racism, and unjustified killings will not be tolerated."

Many activists and officials have lobbied for years for these reforms to be passed, long before the governor's signing of the bill on Friday.

Last year, state lawmakers began discussing a repeal of 50A, a nearly 50-year-old provision in the state's civil rights statutes.

Repealing the law would eliminate the protection of officers with histories of misconduct and other complaints from public scrutiny.

“This week, my colleagues and I in the Assembly Majority answered the call of New Yorkers by passing historic reforms to our law enforcement system. These reforms have been championed by our members for years, and I want to thank my colleagues for their tireless commitment to seeing them through to the finish line”, Carl Heastie, speaker of the New York state assembly.

“I would also like to thank the families of the victims and the passionate advocates who never tired in this fight for justice.”

While the New York City Police Department completely banned the use of chokeholds in 1993, the ban has not prevented police officers from using the restraint.

This new law creates criminal penalties when a police officer or peace officer uses a chokehold or similar restraint and causes serious physical injury or death.

In Minneapolis, where Floyd died, police officers were reported to have used neck restraints at least 237 times during arrests in the last five years and to have left 44 people unconscious in the same time period as a result of the method.

Three-fifths of those subjected to neck restraints and then rendered unconscious were black, according to an NBC News analysis of police records.

Many demonstrators have argued that the policing system can not be reformed, and have pushed cities and states to defund or abolish local law enforcement and divert funding to historically under-funded social welfare programmes.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday announced a pledge to cut funding to the New York Police Department.

“We know this isn’t a cure,” Ms Stewart-Cousins said at the signing of the bill on Friday.

“We know this is the beginning but it is a move to bring justice to a system that has long been unjust."