Even on the side of the neck, that would cut off blood reaching the brain, and you might see him pass out. But he was claiming he couldn’t breath and that is done by pressure to the front of the throat. Plus the second cop said, if he’s talking, he’s breathing. I think he was having a heart attack. Only God and the cop know for sure how hard he was pressing down on the neck, and God ain’t talking just yet.
Everyone seems fixated on the neck area being the cause of him not being able to breathe. There is a thing called “positional asphyxiation” that LEO’s are taught to be aware of. It involves the pressure of the arms behind the back along with weight and pressure applied by officers on the subjects back. This makes it hard for the victim to breathe. All they need to do is roll him slightly to either side to alleviate the pressure. The subject is still secured and this type of incident can be avoided. It also shows via video footage, that the officers responded in a manner that did not add to the possible death of the subject.