Riverside County Sheriff’s Department suspends use of Carotid Restraint Control Hold

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department suspended the use of the Carotid Restraint Control Hold, also known as a chokehold, from training and as a force option effective immediately and until further notice.

A carotid restraint compresses the neck arteries and restricts blood flow to the brain, rendering a person unconscious. The use of it raised a lot of controversy, most recently in the death of George Floyd.

The department's announcement comes a few days after Governor Gavin Newsom directed the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to remove all use of the Carotid Restraint Control Hold from training.

Gov. Newsom called for the end of the use of cartoid restraints last week during a news conference.

"We can argue that these are used as exceptions, but at the end of the day carotid holds that literally is designed to stop people's blood from going to their brain—that has no place any longer," Newsom said.

California P.O.S.T notified the Sheriff’s Department that any training or use of any type of the Carotid Restraint Control Hold will be done so outside of P.O.S.T certification.

A bill to completely eliminate the use of the Carotid Restraint Control Hold is currently awaiting a hearing in the California Senate as well. The Sheriff's Department notes that should the bill pass, the department will update its policies accordingly.

The Desert Hot Springs Police Department banned the use of the carotid restraint.

Read: Here’s what valley police chiefs say needs to change in their departments