New York City’s ban on police chokeholds, diaphragm compression upheld by state’s high court

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
Associated Press

New York’s highest court has upheld a New York City law that forbids police from using chokeholds or compressing a person’s diaphragm during an arrest. The New York Court of Appeals issued the ruling in a unanimous decision on Monday. The city’s law came as governments across the country prohibited or severely limited the use of chokeholds or similar restraints by police following the death of George Floyd in 2020, which occurred as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes. The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, along with other law enforcement unions, had sued city over its law, claiming it was vague.