Report Finds NYPD Cops’ Use of Banned Chokeholds ‘Alarming’
In his first report, Inspector General Philip Eure found that in 10 recent cases involving chokeholds — the same banned maneuver responsible for the July 2014 death of Eric Garner — the cops received little or no discipline from higher-ups.
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Several involved suspects who were violently resisting arrest, including a suspect who bit a cop’s hand and another who repeatedly punched officers as he was being arrested.
But some indicated the victims did little more than argue or taunt a cop before being subjected to the prohibited tactic they claimed restricted their ability to breath.
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In a Nov. 19, 2008, incident, a 15-year-old detained on robbery charges alleged he was choked by a sergeant while handcuffed to a rail inside a Bronx precinct house. CCRB substantiated the allegation based on another teenage witness in the station and the sergeant’s account. Kelly rejected CCRB’s recommendations for the toughest punishment — departmental charges that could result in the sergeant being fired — and instead imposed no punishment at all.
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In all 10 cases the NYPD ignored CCRB’s suggested punishment. In nine of the cases, CCRB recommended the toughest sanction possible, departmental charges. In every case the cop got lesser punishment ranging from no punishment at all to the loss of five vacation days.
In six of the cases, Kelly imposed the lesser slap-on-the-wrist punishment or none at all without explanation, offering only boilerplate reasoning.
More: Report Finds NYPD Cops’ Use of Banned Chokeholds ‘Alarming’