NY's Highest Court Upholds Law Banning Police Chokeholds, Diaphragm Compression

The unanimous decision rejects police union challenges, affirming the law's clarity and consistency with existing state law.

New York's highest court upheld a New York City law forbidding police from using chokeholds or compressing a person's diaphragm during an arrest.
The law was challenged by police unions who argued its language was vague about what officers are allowed to do during an arrest.
The court's unanimous decision ruled that the law is clear in its language and does not conflict with an existing state law that also bans police chokeholds.
The law was passed in response to the death of George Floyd and similar laws have been enacted across the country.
The New York Police Department has long barred its officers from using chokeholds, and the state has a law banning police chokeholds named after Eric Garner, who was killed by a chokehold in 2014.