Choking Justice: Combating Racial Bias and Brutality in Police Chokeholds

Abstract

Policy Brief: Police Department Chokehold Issue 14 March 2022 From: Executive Statement: Chokeholds is a controversial issue that expresses the inhumane side of the law enforcers. The need for police officers to respect life as a human right is essential in limiting and preventing chokeholds on crime offenders. Key Message and Solutions Problem: Chokeholds issue within the police department Solution 1: Strict chokeholds ban Solution 2: Implicit bias training Introduction Life is a natural human right that demands recognition and respect by all regardless of the powers one hold over the others. Police departments render law enforcers the authority to use force and power while handling criminal civilians, with chokeholds being among the major ways law enforcers express their powers to civilians. Chokeholds can be generalized as an act that ignores the value of life. To be precise, chokehold is a term that represents an act of a grappling hold that limits or reduces the consistency of air or blood circulation through the neck. Law enforcers exercise chokeholds as a way of expressing their adherence to "use of force policy" while handling a crime offender. However, most police officers misinterpret "Use of Force Policy" guidelines as assured of protection since the policy allow them to use force while handling offenders, especially in circumstances that expose their lives in danger. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the human body functioning, chokehold leads the offender to become unconscious with death in severe cases. Background Racial bias proves a severe fact that governs police attitude towards American offenders in most cases. Chokehold though a way of using the power that is a right protected by "Use of Force Policy" for law enforcers, mostly expresses inequality in law-breakers' treatment. Unfortunately, people of color suffer a great deal regarding police brutality and the use of excessive power/force. Chokeholds have led many to lose their lives, with Eric Ganner and George Floyd serving as the most notable high profile deaths attributed to chokeholds. However, it is imperative to note that other people like Allen Simpson, James Thompson and Torris Harris died in Dallas, Chicago and Chattanooga, encountered their deaths through chokehold, to mention a few. According to an NBC News report, though many states banned chokeholds, Minnesota did not, leading the Minneapolis police department to record 234 times of employing neck restraints between 2015 and 2020 when the ban became effective (Siegel, Lehren and Blankstein, 2020). Unfortunately, 16% of the chokehold incidents by Minneapolis police lead the suspects to become unconscious, with 44 people losing consciousness (NBC report, 2020). The encounter of George Floyd brought a new phase of analyzing chokeholds in many Americans' minds. It is all about racial bias as Floyd was unarmed and did not resist arrest thus did not deserve excessive force during his encounter with Derek Chauvin. Just as Ganner, a black suspect who whispered 11 times, "I cannot breathe", but fell on deaf ears, so did Floyd, whose neck remained held by a Minneapolis police officer for over nine minutes and 29 seconds. During George Floyd Memorial Day, Art Acevedo, a police chief in Houston, assured civilians that the amended “use-of-force policy” comes along with strengthened restrictions on the use of chokeholds. Current use-of-force policy governing police departments Policymakers design "use of force policy “to ensure human life remains valued and preserved at all times. The current state of this policy, if well respected, can prevent chokeholds use and unnecessary deaths therein in a great manner. However, many police officers misinterpret the policy guidelines out of ignorance, lack of accountability or lack of enough knowledge (Evstatieva and Mak, 2020). The policy bans the use of excessive power like chokeholds in some situations, allowing it in others, especially in cases of resistance or officers' life threats. Such circumstances give the ignorant officers the guts to employ chokeholds even in an unnecessary situation like Floyds and Gunners raising racial...