The Wisconsin Senate has voted to prohibit police from using chokeholds, except in life-threatening situations or to defend themselves
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FILE - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks during a news conference as Democratic state Rep. Sheila Stubbs listens, in this May 20, 2019, file photo, in Madison, Wis. Police in Wisconsin would be banned from using chokeholds, except in life-threatening situations or to defend themselves, under a bipartisan bill the state Senate is scheduled to approve Wednesday, June 9, 2021. |
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would prohibit police from using chokeholds, except in life-threatening situations or to defend themselves, while also approving a measure that attempts to stop the defunding of police.
The chokehold measure is one in a series of police reform bills making their way through the Wisconsin Legislature a year after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after white police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into his neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. Chauvin lost his job and was found guilty of murder. Numerous other shootings of Black people by white police officers across the country, including in Wisconsin, have placed greater attention on policing policies and accelerated calls for change.
Under the bill approved on a voice vote Wednesday, police departments in Wisconsin would be barred from authorizing chokeholds in their policies detailing how and when force can be used. Critics say there should be no exception for officers to use chokeholds, even in self defense as the bill allows. But supporters say the exception is reasonable and that the bill would all-but eliminate the use of chokeholds.
Many Wisconsin police departments have already enacted similar policies, including Milwaukee which has no exceptions, and chokeholds are not taught as a compliance technique during law enforcement training. However, backers of the bill say explicitly banning them statewide would be another step toward ensuring they are not used.
Following Floyd’s death last year, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed an outright ban on chokeholds in all instances. Evers took a softer approach in April, more in line with the bill, ordering the Wisconsin State Patrol and other state law enforcement agencies to update their use of force policies to prohibit chokeholds, unless as a last resort.
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