New York police chokehold complaints 'not punished'

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

A review of the New York police's recent chokehold cases has found discipline recommended by a complaints board was very often not followed.

In seven out of 10 cases studied, a prosecutor or the police commissioner imposed lesser punishments on officers who used chokeholds, which are banned.
...
Inspector General Philip Eure called the report "a deep-dive into cases involving this prohibited tactic to explore and demystify how these complaints are addressed internally".
...
The report also notes officers used chokeholds - "whether neck grabs or headlocks or some other contact with the neck or throat - as a first act of physical force in response to verbal resistance, as opposed to first attempting to defuse the situation".

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30783323

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And, of course, the police union chief whines 'bias!!!!! We're the real victims here!!!!' in his best Cartman impression:

“If anything, the report reveals the dysfunction and anti-police bias that is rampant in the investigations conducted by the CCRB,” Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, retorted Monday.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/pat-lynch-chokehold-report-displays-anti-police-bias-article-1.2075541

[Ino]

1. Why all the anti-police bias? Wahhhh!!!!

Three cops in this photo series...

One almost lovingly, calmly puts his hands around the student's throat, then grimaces as he chokes him unconscious

The other two cops are the proverbial "good cops" who do not react to the choking at all, as though it happens all. the. time.

[uppityperson]

2. wtf, to all 3 cops

[jakeXT]

3. They call it compression of the chest and get away with it

Put simply, during the last decade, the NYPD disciplinary decisions in NYPD administrative trials of chokehold allegations failed to enforce the clear mandate of the Patrol Guide chokehold rule. In response to these decisions which failed to hold offending officers accountable, the CCRB and NYPD Department Advocate’s Office [internal affairs] failed to charge officers with chokehold violations pursuant to the mandate of the Patrol Guide chokehold rule.

By failing to properly punish officers who have used a banned method of apprehension, the department effectively shapes the understanding of the rule by officers, the study says.

In essence, in their respective charging decisions, the CCRB and the Department Advocate redefined a “chokehold” to require force to the neck during which an officer actually and substantially interfered with a complainant’s breathing rather than “pressure” to the neck which “may” interfere with breathing. In this respect the chokehold rule “mutated” to adapt to the NYPD disciplinary process, rather than the disciplinary process following the NYPD rule.

Defenders of the officer involved say he was using a proper technique -- one he had learned in the academy that stays away from a person's throat and neck. The New York City medical examiner's office has called Garner's death a homicide resulting from "compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/03/the-nypd-banned-chokeholds-20-years-ago-but-hundreds-of-complaints-are-still-being-filed/