Los Angeles police banning chokeholds following protests over death of George Floyd

Police Commission president Eileen Decker asks for ‘immediate review of the department’s policy regarding the use of the carotid restraint control hold’

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has ordered its officers to stop using chokeholds to restrain suspects, amid George Floyd protests.

The department directed its officers to stop using carotid restraints, commonly referred to as chokeholds, as the restraint can stop blood flow to the brain, according to The Hill.

Los Angeles Police Commission president Eileen Decker asked for an “immediate review of the department’s policy regarding the use of the carotid restraint control hold”, according to a statement from the department on Tuesday.

The department added: “Commission president Decker ... agreed to an immediate moratorium on the training and use of the carotid restraint control hold until such time that the Board of Police Commissioners can conduct a detailed review.”

The moratorium comes amid protests across the US, in opposition to police brutality against African Americans, following the death of Mr Floyd on 25 May.

Mr Floyd died after being detained by Derek Chauvin, who at the time was a Minneapolis police officer, but has since been fired and charged with second degree murder and manslaughter.

The officer knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, as he repeatedly shouted that he couldn’t breathe.

Lieutenant John Satterfield, from the Los Angeles Sheriff Department, also announced that he has directed his officers to stop using the restraint, unless someone’s life is threatened, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Mr Satterfield said the decision was made in reaction to the protests that have taken place over the last couple of weeks.

“The community’s made it clear that this isn’t a force option that they want where it’s currently at,” Mr Satterfield said.

“We hear the community, and we’re going to react.”