The police chiefs of all 23 California State University (CSU) campuses on Friday banned their officers from using the carotid restraint technique.
“As police chiefs of the California State University’s 23 campus police departments, we have been galvanized by the many voices across our state and nation demanding accountability, equity and justice,” the chiefs said in a joint statement. “We have seen the tragic impact of racism and bigotry, and many in our departments have experienced it personally. We are unitedly determined to take action.”
CSU’s chiefs also pledged to implement the recommendations of The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, reported to then-President Barack Obama in May 2015.
The carotid restraint method is a form of chokehold that involves an officer using his or her arm to cut off blood flow through the carotid arteries to the brain. This causes loss of consciousness but is very different from the Minneapolis police officer’s actions that led to the death of George Floyd. However, his death has generated new criticism of tactics like the carotid restraint technique, reports the Los Angeles Times. Gov. Gavin Newsom and members of the California Legislature’s black and Latino caucuses have called for a statewide ban on carotid holds. On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order to reform policing and encourage a ban on chokeholds, reports ABC News.
In addition to CSU banning the technique, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Austin Beutner on Monday announced he was recommending the school board eliminate the use of carotid restraint as well as pepper spray in the city’s schools, reports CBSN Los Angeles.
He also announced that the district’s police department, called the Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD), will be part of the budget review that’s needed due to funding shortages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beutner said LASPD officers receive training that’s very different from that given to Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officers. Its investigation methods differ as well from the city’s and county’s more traditional law enforcement agencies, reports CBSN Los Angeles. The superintendent also said LASPD has never used a weapon on campus and investigated 150 threats of mass shootings at LAUSD schools last year.
