New York Supreme Court Reinstates Law That Bans Police From Using Chokeholds During Arrests

New York has reinstated a law that bans police officers from compressing a suspect’s diaphragm.

On Thursday, the state Supreme Court appeals court reversed the decision that considered the  law “unnecessarily vague.” The diaphragm law made it a criminal misdemeanor to use a restraint method that restricts the flow of air or blood “in a manner that compresses the diaphragm.”

The law was put in place to limit the physical restraints police officers use in detaining someone, including chokeholds. The city council passed the law following the 2020 death of George Floyd.

Police unions sued the state almost immediately after the statute was passed. The unions claim the ban was overly broad and would stop officers from restraining suspects, even if necessary.

In Thursday’s ruling, the Appellate Division dismissed the claims. The panel reinsured the policy and the guidelines of the statute.

“A trained police officer will be able to tell when the pressure he is exerting on a person’s chest or back, in the vicinity of the diaphragm, is making it hard for the person to breathe, just as a driver should be able to tell when the amount of alcohol he consumed is making it unsafe for him or her to drive,” the panel said.

The president of the city’s largest police union, Patrick J. Lynch, called out the judge’s decision. He claims the ruling would deter officers from doing their jobs as crime rates increase.

“Our city leaders need to realize that this ruling deals a direct blow to our fight against the violence that is tearing our city apart,” Lynch says. “This ill-conceived law makes it virtually impossible for police officers to safely and legally take violent criminals into custody. The same job that New Yorkers are urgently asking us to do.”