Connecticut governor signs order banning chokeholds

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed an executive order Monday imposing a series of reforms on the state police department, including a statewide ban on chokeholds.

The order only applies to state police, but Lamont said the state legislature is working on legislation that would extend the reform to local police departments. 

“Policing is about trust, and trust means involving the community. So obviously, a chokehold sent a signal that this is not about trust in the community,” he told CNN Wednesday.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signs an order to ban chokeholds and increase state police transparency: “Policing is about trust, and trust means involving the community. So obviously, a chokehold sent a signal that this is not about trust in the community” https://t.co/noUdS7DrAm pic.twitter.com/b0LMJ1VOxZ

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 17, 2020

According to a review by the Hartford Courant, police officers in Connecticut have killed 21 people in the last five years, mostly by gunfire. Four of those 21 incidents involved state troopers.

Several police departments in places like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, Texas, have banned the use of chokeholds after the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 after a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

New York, Washington and California are among the states that have issued state-wide bans on chokeholds. 

Both Democrats and Republicans have proposed legislation addressing chokeholds, with Democrats seeking to ban them completely and Republicans seeking to ban only those that restrict air flow and not blood flow.