It is a strong measure. Symbolically and concretely. The city of Minneapolis (United States) has decided to prohibit its police forces from any strangling immobilization technique. On Friday, its city council unanimously validated this agreement with the State of Minnesota. The text has been sent to a court judge, who has yet to approve it.
The decision was made eleven days after the death of George Floyd, the 46-year-old African American, who was suffocated during his arrest by four local police officers who intervened after the victim attempted to pay for cigarettes with a 20-dollar bill allegedly forged. . One of them, Derek Chauvin, an experienced officer with a sulfurous past, kept the suspect on the ground by crushing his knee on his neck for almost 9 minutes, indifferent to the pleas of George Floyd who could no longer breathe.
VIDEO. "I can no longer breathe": the video of the arrest of George Floyd
If the "particular practice" used by Derek Chauvin (knee on the neck) is prohibited, as the municipality recalled, members of the Minneapolis Police Department are however authorized to resort to strangulation - with the arm or the leg - and even cause the uncontrolled person to faint, in well-defined cases such as life threatening, very violent assault or extreme resistance. These potentially dangerous practices, common in Minneapolis when they are not recommended or even prohibited in other American states, risk this time being removed from the police manual.
Ten years of police practices scrutinized
The agreement ratified on Friday, which covers all types of bottlenecks, is not limited to this question. The project submitted to the green light of a judge requires all officers to intervene in the event of the use of prohibited, abusive or disproportionate force which they witness. These officers must report it to their hierarchy, from the field where such slippages occur. Otherwise, they will face prosecution similar to that brought against the alleged perpetrators of this police violence.
In addition, the municipality wanted to better manage the management of law enforcement during tense demonstrations. Henceforth, only the chief of police or his duly designated representative may decide to use certain tactics or weapons (tear gas, rubber bullets) to contain a crowd. The local service investigating police blunders will also have expanded access to surveillance cameras.
Four ex-police officers are now charged following the murder of Georges Floyd. But it is all of the forces of the Minneapolis Police Department who find themselves under fire from critics. Since Tuesday, this service has even been the subject of a complaint filed by the governor and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The unprecedented investigation will examine its potentially discriminatory civil rights practices over the past ten years, in a city where blacks represent only 19% of the population. The municipality expects a lot from this procedure, some members regretting having delayed so long to demand radical reforms.
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Reforms, Minneapolis police chief says he's ready to initiate. "I will propose far-reaching policy changes," Medaria Arradondo said Friday, who wants to "step up efforts to improve public confidence." It's urgent. This Saturday, some close to the municipality were to meet with a strong idea in mind: dismantle the police department.