The asphyxiation death of George Floyd as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck in May shocked the world. Now, some Montreal city councillors and a former RCMP officer are calling for an outright ban on all types of neck restraints used by police officers to subdue suspects.
“What’s at risk is a life,” Francesco Miele, Montreal city councillor (Côte-de-Liesse), said at a Tuesday press conference.
“Unless there is an extreme case where the life of a police officer is in danger — I see no reason to justify the use of a controlled technique that if poorly executed can cause strangulation,” Alain Babineau, a former RCMP officer said.
READ MORE: George Floyd death draws scrutiny on police use of force. What’s Canada’s protocol?
Eight years ago, Montreal police officer Stéfanie Trudeau was convicted of assault for using a neck hold on a suspect.
There are two common neck-restraint methods officers use to subdued suspects – but they can also be deadly.
Vascular neck restraints, like a stranglehold, can cause a person to lose consciousness by limiting blood flow. They are permitted by many police departments in North America including Montreal police (SPVM).
However, respiratory neck restraints that cut off oxygen and block the windpipe — commonly known as “chokeholds” — have been banned by the RCMP since 1979 and for at least 30 years by all Ontario police forces, according to the press release issued by Montreal’s opposition party. Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer administered a chokehold by forcing his knee across Floyd’s neck.
The opposition councillors and Montreal’s independent city councillor, Marvin Rotrand (Snowdon), are calling for all types of neck restraints to be prohibited by the SPVM. Their motion also calls on the Quebec government to implement a province-wide ban on all neck restraints. The motion is scheduled to be introduced for debate at the next city council meeting, Aug. 24.
“It could lead to death and injury in circumstances where there is no arguable reason to use that method where there are other alternatives,” Rotrand told Global News.
A spokesperson for the city of Montreal told Global News in a statement that the city denounces all types of excessive force used by the police and city officials are willing to work with the Quebec government in the future to help better train police officers. However, the statement says the training of officers is determined by the provincial police academy and the Quebec government.
The Montreal police department declined a Global News request for an interview but the media relations team released this statement in an email:
“Well applied in a context and under specific circumstances, the neck technique allows a suspect to be subdued with a greatly reduced risk of injury compared to the use of some of the intermediate weapons.”
That’s not good enough, says Max Sydney Bazin, president of the Black Coalition of Quebec
“I’m not happy with this answer. For me, this is a dangerous method,” Bazin told Global News.