A New York police officer was prosecuted for "locking throat"
A policeman in New York City, United States, was arrested and prosecuted on the 25th for using the "lock throat" action prohibited by law during law enforcement, and faced up to seven years in prison.
The policeman was named David Afanadore and was 39 years old. On the 21st when he patrolled the Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York with three colleagues, he sparred with three men. Videos uploaded by passersby to social media show that four police officers suppressed a black man on the ground, and one of them strangled the neck of the latter with his arm. There was a cry of "Don't Strike Him" from the crowd.
This video caused an uproar after being reported by the media, and the policeman Afanadoll, who used the "throat-locking" technology, was suspended without pay. On the evening of the 21st, the New York City Police Department announced the scene captured by the law enforcement recorder. The screen shows that before the police started, they stalemate with the three troublemakers for at least 11 minutes. Three people abused the police with verbal abuse. One of them also copied something in the trash can and threatened to hit the people. The four policemen have been persuading them to leave. .
New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shay issued a statement on the 22nd, saying that the four policemen have shown "extreme restraint". "In spite of this, a policeman pinched someone else's neck by hand (wrong practice), and he has been suspended immediately." .
The black man who was "locked" was named Ricky Bellevue, 35 years old. He was arrested for disturbing public order and was later released. The prosecutor said he would not be prosecuted.
Belvey's lawyer said that the client was temporarily unconscious after being "locked" and was taken to hospital for treatment. He asked the prosecutor to convict Afanadoll and "let him go to jail".
The Queens District Prosecutor Melinda Katz charged with the case accused Afanado of two charges of strangulation and attempted strangulation. The latter surrendered to the police station and was arrested. If convicted, he can be sentenced to a maximum of 7 years in prison. But he refused to plead guilty when he first appeared in court on the 25th.
Katz said: "The ink of Governor Como's signing of the decree has not yet been used, and this policeman used the means expressly prohibited by this new decree."
New York State Governor Andrew Como signed a series of bills involving police reform on the 12th of this month, one of which prohibited the police from using "lock throat" actions. The New York City Police Department has banned police from "locking their throats" since 1993, but there are not many violators.
The Associated Press reported that this was the second time Afanadore was indicted in a 15-year police career. The previous time was in 2016, when he was accused of using a gun handle to knock down two of a minor suspect. The teeth were later acquitted.
The action of "locking the throat" has been controversial recently because of its danger. Black man George Freud died on May 25 after being "locked" by a white policeman in law enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, triggering large-scale anti-racial discrimination and violent law enforcement protest demonstrations.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the 16th, recommending that police use less lethal weapons, such as electric shock sticks, during the law enforcement process, and at the same time stipulates that the police must not use "lock throat" actions without threatening their lives. Control the suspect. (Wang Hongbin) (Special Feature for Xinhua News Agency)