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The first picture shows the rear naked choke, a windpipe choke. Notice the position of the arm behind the head pushing the neck forward into the other arm thus constricting the windpipe. This is not what the cop did.

The second pic shows an anaconda choke, which constricts both arteries to the brain, but does not constrict the windpipe. One of the victim's own arms is used to press one side of his neck, while the forearm of the aggressor is used to press the other side.

In order to achieve the leverage needed to do this, the aggressor must first secure the hold, then rotate his body perpendicular to the victims body. Without that rotation, the hold does not work.

So the officer did not choke him in this manner either.

Well, those are sports chokeholds, but we should be looking at the holds that law enforcement commonly uses. Here is some info from an article that is specifically about the NYC ban:

“In 1980, under the threat of several lawsuits, Los Angeles banned the use of one especially lethal choke hold — called the bar-arm hold, which cuts off the air supply by crushing the larynx — and many large police departments followed suit, Professor Fyfe said. In many cases, the departments also banned or restricted use of a less dangerous hold, the carotid hold, which compresses the carotid arteries in the neck and temporarily cuts off blood to the brain.”

“Chief Timoney said the city policy specifically did not distinguish between various types of holds, but rather banned them categorically. It also prohibited other restraints or tactics — like standing on a suspect’s chest or transporting a suspect in a face-down position — which might impede breathing.

“Basically, stay the hell away from the neck,” he said. “That’s what it says.””

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/24/nyregion/kelly-bans-choke-holds-by-officers.html

So, the use of the forearm pressed against the larynx, even if it didn’t meet a proper MMA form, still would violate the policy as explained by the former Chief. According to this Handbook of Forensic Pathology, it would seem to qualify as a “bar arm chokehold”:

“http://books.google.com/books?id=4VkXpNe9xLoC&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=bar-arm+choke+hold&source=bl&ots=kTxPvvfNTn&sig=l0sfZWBUOBdp2sfFoRop8Hxn0VQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7AOAVPrHF8r9yQT0wIDABw&ved=0CHAQ6AEwDQ#v=onepage&q=bar-arm%20choke%20hold&f=false";

An effective choke hold collapses the trachea primarily and prevents the movement of O2 into the lungs. A person who can not move air through their trachea and into their lungs can not speak. That’s why there is an international symbol of choking, placing your own crossed hands around your throat. When Eric Garner repeatedly stated, “I can’t breathe”, he was only able to do so because air was, in fact, moving through his trachea into his lungs. His breathing capacity may have been diminished but he was able to breathe at least up until he stopped talking. He died from the heart attack that he was having. One of the hallmark signs of a heart attack is difficulty breathing.