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The “diaphragm clause” of the law — which allows for DAs to bring a misdemeanor charge if an officer uses any move during an arrest that could limit breathing — “stands to criminalize the lawful use of force, (and) threatens both police and public safety,” the lawsuit reads.
The police unions in the Big Apple have banded together to sue the city over a controversial part of the city's chokehold law that makes it illegal for an officer to put pressure on a subject's diaphragm, even if the action is unintentional.
The lawsuit was filed late Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court and was signed off on by 18 different unions that represent officers with the NYPD, Port Authority, MTA, State Police, courts and city district attorneys’ offices, the New York Post reports.
The “diaphragm clause” of the law — which allows for DAs to bring a misdemeanor charge if an officer uses any move during an arrest that could limit breathing — “stands to criminalize the lawful use of force, (and) threatens both police and public safety,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit challenges the city law, which was enacted July 15, arguing it should be rolled back since a less restrictive recent state law that only criminalizes chokeholds supersedes the local regulation.
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