The Rochester Police Department has released policy changes on intervening and chokeholds.
Chokeholds are banned, unless used in "extreme circumstances."
Plus, any officer has a duty to intervene whenever any other officer uses unreasonable force.
Any failure to so do will result in disciplinary action, and a supervisor will be required to address the behavior.
From the RPD:
The Rochester Police Department formally announces it is developing a series of new and revised policies which will be released to the public over the course of the next few weeks. These policy changes are part of Department’s commitment to better serving our community and are the result of a careful and extensive review of the existing policies.
Two policy updates have now been completed, including Duty to Intervene and Chokeholds. These policies were rolled out to officers today and take effect immediately. Details on the changes to these two policies are outlined below for reference.
The full policies can be found here:
https://data-rpdny.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/go-336-duty-to-intervene
https://data-rpdny.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/go-341-chokeholds
Duty to Intervene
- All members have duty to intervene to prevent or stop any unreasonable use of force or other misconduct
- Members failing to intervene can result in discipline or remedial measures
- Any intervention must be reported to a supervisor as soon as practical
- Supervisors must address the behavior
Chokehold Ban
- Police Officers are prohibited from using chokeholds except in extreme circumstances where deadly physical force is authorized.
- The policy includes information regarding the new NYS Penal Law – Aggravated Strangulation
Next week, the department plans on releasing our new Mental Hygiene Detention policy and De-escalation policy. In the coming weeks we will be releasing our new policies on Use of Force and Juvenile Detention. The releases are issued in a series to ensure proper disseminating and implementation, while allowing time for all RPD members to property train on and acclimate to the changes.