Now that a NYPD officer has succeeded in using an illegal chokehold to choke a Staten Island man to death, other videos are surfacing online showing that although the chokehold is prohibited by the New York police department, it is apparently used more often than not.
According to NBC New York, the subway arrest video was taken just three days before the death of Eric Garner, who died in police custody after being placed in a chokehold.
Public outrage following Garner’s death in Staten Island has prompted NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton to announce that the department will retrain all officers. Using a chokehold during an arrest is prohibited.
The subway arrest footage was posted online by Rev. Kelmy Rodriquez. He reports receiving it in an anonymous email, and according to NBC New York, Rodriquez notes the suspect was resisting arrest, but still feels the chokehold should not have been used.
The Manhattan arrest of 23-year-old Ronald Johns took place on July 14 at the 125th Street and Lexington Avenue subway station in East Harlem.
