I’ll wager the guy did not die from the ‘choke hold,’ he likely died from a heart attack from exerting himself during the arrest. The ‘choke hold’ is actually very safe.
The problems I saw with the “choke hold” was that instead of creating a little space across the wind pipe caused by the crook in the arm inside the elbow, , the person applying the hold couldn’t or didn’t extend their arm all the way over to pressure the carotid on the far side, so their forearm crushed the wind pipe. Some people have died from this. One I remember with LAPD in the 1980s.
I had short arms and it’s something I was aware of the three times I actually applied the hold.
Our director banned it because of the problems in LA.
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People definitely used to die from it when it was used frequently.
Members of the New York City Police Department will not use choke holds. A choke hold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2xuuKCIAABh7S.jpg:medium