Police chokeholds are now a class 1 misdemeanor in Colorado. House Bill 1264 makes an exception if the officer thinks he, she or another person is in imminent danger of death or serious injury.
These new limits on police authority were put into effect on Friday.
The chokehold ban would ban only chokeholds that cut off air flow, not chokeholds that cut off blood flow. Police say that’s an important distinction.
Our Editor In Chief, Travis Yates, has concerns, “The research is clear that neck restraints are a safe, viable and effective option for police officers in arrest and control scenarios and while these politicians have what they claim to have made a ‘distinct difference’, I doubt any cop in Colorado believes them.”
The Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint® System (or LVNR®), has saved the lives of countless cops and suspects alike and it has proven far superior than any other neck restraint system being taught but it is widely misunderstood to be a “choke hold.”
What happens when a cop uses LVNR and it is caught on video or worse yet, a suspect dies because of a pre-existing condition? Who makes the determination the hold was correct or not?
This law now places the burden on the cops and a well researched and proven method will always come into question if something isn’t textbook.
The result, Colorado cops are going to shelve one of the most important tools that we have and that is bad for law enforcement and the citizens that they serve.
