Regulating Police Chokeholds

24 Pages Posted: 11 May 2022

Date Written: May 6, 2022

Abstract

This Article presents findings from an analysis of police chokehold policies enacted at the federal, state, and municipal levels of government. In addition to identifying the jurisdictions that restricted police chokeholds in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, the Article conveys (via analysis of an original dataset) the considerable variance in the quality of police chokehold regulation. While many jurisdictions regulate the police chokehold, the strength of such regulations should not be taken for granted. Police chokehold policies vary by the type of chokehold barred (“air choke” and/or carotid choke), the degree of the chokehold restriction, an officer’s “duty to intervene” when observing improper police application of the chokehold, and the type of sanction attached to a chokehold policy violation (criminal and/or administrative). Following the presentation of chokehold policy variance, the authors recommend an absolute bar of both air chokes and carotid chokes. However, in contemplating such a policy, policymakers should consider whether an officer authorized to use deadly force but barred from applying the air or carotid choke will be inclined to use his firearm as a force alternative.

Keywords: police, chokeholds, excessive force, George Floyd, criminal, federal, municipal, state

Suggested Citation

Gardner, Trevor George, Regulating Police Chokeholds (May 6, 2022). Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 112, 2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4101934

Trevor George Gardner (Contact Author)

Washington University in St. Louis ( email )

One Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1208
Saint Louis, MO MO 63130-4899
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
24
Abstract Views
150
PlumX Metrics