Minneapolis Agrees to Ban Neck Restraints & Chokeholds Following George Floyd’s Death

The state of Minneapolis has agreed to ban chokeholds and neck restraints by the police, following George Floyd’s death while in police custody.

POLICE officers will also be legally required to “immediately report and intervene any time they see an unauthorised use of force by another officer”. If they don’t, “they too could be subject to discipline as severe as if they themselves had used the prohibited force”, states the official agreement.

The agreement was reached today between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, after a civil rights investigation was launched in response to George Floyd’s death while in police custody.

The agreement also seeks more accountability around crowd-control weapons, as well as “timely decisions” on disciplining officers. Finally, the agreement also demands “more transparency” in police discipline cases, and for those “disciplinary decisions to be publicly posted on the city’s website when allowed by state law”.

All four former Minneapolis police officers who were involved with Floyd’s murder now face charges, as reported. Derek Chauvin who knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes has been charged with second-degree murder. The other three former officers – Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao – have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.