Elk Grove, Woodland and Lincoln police no longer allow use of carotid artery hold
The Elk Grove, Woodland and Lincoln police departments this week announced their officers will no longer be allowed to use the carotid artery control hold or neck restraint to subdue suspects.
The decisions to end use of this chokehold come after more than a week’s worth of protests in the Sacramento region and throughout the country in efforts to reform police use of force.
Protesters took to the streets in response to the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Elk Grove Police Chief Timothy Albright issued an administrative directive on Monday to immediately prohibit the use of the carotid control hold, according to a department news release. Officials said the department’s use of force policy was being updated to reflect the banning of the control hold.
The police chief said he made the decision “in removing and prohibiting this use of force technique from our policy” in collaboration with his advisory board and after hearing residents’ concerns.
“We strive to provide quality service to our community, and we acknowledge the continual need to review our policies to ensure those same policies are reflective of our diverse community and our department’s mission, vision and values,” Albright said in the news release.
Woodland police suspend carotid hold
The Woodland Police Department announced Monday morning on its Facebook page that it suspended use of the “carotid restraint” on Thursday.
“This decision was made after we received notification from the California Department of Peace Officer Standards and Training indicating that the carotid restraint hold would no longer be taught in police academies and agencies were directed to remove this technique from any further department POST trainings,” Woodland police officials said.
The department was working to update its policy manual and will post an updated version of the policy on its website as soon as it becomes available, officials said.
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would remove the chokehold technique from statewide law enforcement training and is endorsing a bill, AB 1196, to ban use of the technique. Newsom has said the state must ban “strangleholds that put people’s lives at risk.”
Lincoln police stopped chokehold training years ago
On Monday, the Lincoln Police Chief Doug Lee issued a directive that banned the use of the carotid control hold, according to a statement posted Tuesday morning on the department’s Facebook page.
Police officials said the hold was previously allowed under the department’s use of force policy, but it could only be used by officers who had received “department approved training.” The department stopped training this technique several years ago, officials said, “so it technically wasn’t permissible.”
“This directive, along with the removal of the carotid control hold reference in our use of force policy, solidifies our stance on this practice,” Lee said in the department’s Facebook post.
The department’s use of force policy can be viewed online. Lincoln police officials said they also examined department policies, practices and training to see how they align with the #8Can’tWait initiative, a campaign that encourages law enforcement to adopt eight “more restrictive use of force policies.”
The Lincoln Police Department shared its comparisons between the reform campaign and its own policy on the city’s website. After listing the eight reform changes, department officials shared their characterizations of the differences.
“As you can see the differences in their recommendations and our policies are very minor in nature,” Lincoln police officials said. “Because of these solid policies and our very dedicated and professional employees, we enjoy a great relationship with our community.”
Sacramento and Davis police also end chokehold use
Over the weekend, the Sacramento and Davis police departments announced they had suspended use of the “carotid control” hold.
The Sacramento Police Department said in a statement that it would discontinue using the hold immediately. The Davis Police Department made a similar announcement around the same time.
Last week, the Sacramento Police Department said it was investigating a use-of-force incident in which an officer used a neck restraint on a teenager. It’s unclear from bystander cellphone video if the officer was attempting to perform a carotid hold or another type of neck restraint.
Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter that its decision was not a significant change for his department, since use of “the carotid control hold and other neck restraints was previously reserved for only those situations where deadly force was authorized.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 9:07 PM.
