United States Protests: New York, Iowa Move To Ban Police Chokeholds

By Staff, Agencies

The governors of the American states of New York and Iowa signed Friday two respective packages aimed at keeping the local police forces in check in response to the weeks-long protests across the United States.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill banning the use of chokeholds during an arrest.

The legislation also canceled another law, dating decades back, that kept police disciplinary records away from the public's eye.

Friday also saw the officials in the New York City clash over a bid to slash the local police fund by $1 billion -- about one-sixth of the total -- in an apparent nod to activists calling to "defund the police."

The measure was proposed by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and rejected by Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose office said this was unlikely "the way to maintain safety."

In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds signed Friday a bill that also banned chokeholds and gave the state Attorney General more powers in prosecuting the police.

On the same day, the City Council in Minneapolis voted to replace police with a "community"-led safety system.

The measures come as a response to the protests that erupted across the US in response to the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American pinned to the ground by his neck during an arrest in late May.