“It is an approved restraining technique, and is harmless if applied properly. “
What he did is specifically against MPD procedures.
No police department teaches that.
For most of the time, George Floyd was actively resisting.
The dispute is about the officer's judgement as to weather Floyd was going to resist again, if not under restraint.
Now we know Floyd died while under restraint, probably about 2 minutes and 43 seconds before the officer stopped restraining him.
It is easy to Monday morning quarterback.
Negligent? Maybe. It will be argued.
Murder conviction? Not going to happen.
I just read 250+ responses, and did some checking of my own...
He was compliant even after being handcuffed (although he did resist a bit), when the officers started taking him to the police cruiser, he stated that he was “claustrophobic”, and started resisting. The coroner report states that he had underlying health conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death. Having been in the health field for many years, his excitement at being put in a police car put in motion all of his health conditions, none of which the police were aware of, however not being able to breath while still standing would be common with a hypertensive episode, with CAD complications, and as any meds out there would surmise, he was probably having a heart complication. As he continued resisting, it would naturally elevate his heart rate, and exacerbate an already stressful situation. Again, the police did not know his condition, but called for an ambulance at that time (wise move), he fought his way out of the cruiser, and two other officers were called and helped wrestle him to the ground. They are taught to control the head.
““It used to be a training method used quite a bit. The reason was it was, was if you can control the head you can control the body,” Masson said.
Masson is a former Minneapolis Park police officer who now teaches law enforcement training. With just a short video clip to go on, Masson said some context may be missing. But she said officers are taught to be careful of the neck and back.
“We would teach that but once the person was under control, the threat was stopped, then we would release that move,” Masson said.”
Again, control the head, you control the body. We know more now than we did, it appears that the officers responded as trained.
IMO, if there is fault, it is in their training. This was a very large, very strong, combative man. It is not surprising that it took 4 officers to restrain him, nor is it unlikely that they would release him short of an ambulance arriving to take him to the hospital.
Its a sad outcome, but I see no wrong doing, an am sad for the family, and even more sad for the Officers who I think feel very betrayed by their superiors, and the Mayors office. We need to back the Officers, teach the public to follow their directions, and much can be avoided IMO.
https://twitter.com/lookner/status/1266460328541523968
https://news.yahoo.com/tennessee-police-chief-had-message-171855073.html
No it wasn't. That neck restraint procedure is taught to all Minneapolis police officers. It's part of their training. Articles about this have been posted on FR. Do a search on the internet. A retired Hennepin County police trainer said it's an approved procedure, and he taught it. Frankly, I don't understand how any police agency teaches that, or any kind of neck hold that could result in death. It's only asking for trouble. Police officers, correctional officers, etc., are not privy to personal medical records when they have to restrain someone. Blame HIPPA for that.