Long Beach Police Ban Controversial Carotid Restraint
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Long Beach police Wednesday announced their officers will no longer be allowed to use the controversial carotid restraint, following the lead of several other local agencies who have also banned the practice in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
The Long Beach Police Department reported that it is suspending the maneuver effective immediately.
"As part of this policy update, the department will gather, review, and evaluate regional data and science associated with the use of the carotid restraint as a control technique," the department said in a news release.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Corona, Pasadena, El Monte and Placentia police departments also announced this week they are either suspending or banning the practice. The L.A. County District Attorney's Office has also ordered its officers to stop using the maneuver.
The L.A. County Sheriff's Department said Monday its deputies would suspend the use of carotid restraints in situations "which do not to the level of deadly force."
RELATED: LAPD, El Monte PD Order Moratorium On Carotid Restraint Control Hold
The carotid hold applies pressure to the sides of the neck, cutting off blood flow. Its intended to make a combative person momentarily unconscious, and is different than a chokehold, which puts pressure across the windpipe. Chokeholds have already been banned by the LAPD and many other agencies, including Long Beach police.
On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state police training program to stop teaching officers how to use the carotid hold.
"We can argue that these are used as exceptions, but at the end of the day, carotid hold, that literally is designed from stopping people's blood from flowing into their brain, that has no place any longer," Newsom said.
Also last week, Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) introduced a bill which would make the carotid restrain illegal in California.
On May 31, what started out as peaceful George Floyd protests in Long Beach degenerated into looting in the city's Pike area. Several businesses were ransacked or set ablaze and multiple police cruisers were damaged. The looters at one point set off fireworks in the direction of officers. About 75 people were arrested.
A Long Beach police officer who posted a photo on Instagram that showed him holding a baton over what appeared to be a bloody sidewalk during that day's protest was fired last week.
