The New York State Senate today passed Harlem Senator Brian Benjamin’s bill, the “Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act” (S.6670B) prohibiting the use of chokeholds by law enforcement.
Also, the bill establishes the crime of aggravated strangulation as a Class-C felony. In response, Senator Benjamin issued the following statement:
“I can’t breathe. Eric Garner’s dying words have been chanted in the streets of New York for nearly six years. Now, they have reached a deafening roar as worldwide protests against police brutality continue in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, another Black life lost to excessive force by police officers.
We are taking an important step forward today to end excessive force by police by unanimously passing my bill, S.6670B, the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, which prohibits the use of chokeholds by law enforcement and establishes the crime of aggravated strangulation as a Class-C felony. Black Lives Matter, and this bill will ensure that police are finally held accountable when they use the kind of excessive force they have used disproportionately on Black Americans like Eric Garner, George Floyd, and Breona Taylor.”
Read more stories about Harlem Senator Brian Benjamin here.
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