San Diego County sheriff, local police announce carotid restraint ban, following city's lead

Local law enforcement agencies in San Diego — including the Sheriff’s Department — on Wednesday announced an immediate ban on the carotid restraint, a move that comes two days after San Diego police said they would no longer allow officers to use the controversial neck hold.

The county Sheriff’s Department, as well as police departments from Oceanside to Coronado, from Chula Vista to La Mesa, from the harbor to universities — all announced they were making the policy change.

“In light of community concerns, and after consultation with many elected officials throughout the county, I am stopping the use of the carotid restraint by my deputies effective immediately,” Sheriff Bill Gore said in a written statement. “I have and always will listen to any feedback about the public safety services we provide.”

Later, Gore told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he still believes the hold, when properly applied, is safe. But he said sees that the public narrative has changed, especially after high-profile cases involving the deaths of black men, most recently the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Gore said he had been reluctant to remove “a less lethal, safe option” from deputies. But he said he had to balance the option of allowing deputies to use the hold against changing public perception.

“I wanted to put that discussion behind us so that department wasn’t received as recalcitrant and unwilling to listen to the communities that we serve, because we do listen to them,” the sheriff said.

“Communities,” Gore said, “by and large have spoken out against this technique. I have to listen.”

When using a carotid hold, officers use an arm to put pressure on the sides of a person’s neck. If it’s applied correctly, the person can fall unconscious. Police leaders have said it can resolve incidents before needing to turn to deadlier force like use of a gun.

But it can lead to injury or death. Critics say it is dangerous, and say it is used disproportionately on people of color.

Sheriff’s deputies have used the hold 66 times out of more than 4,000 use-of-force incidents last year. Those uses include instances in the jails, where the detentions officers do not carry weapons. Gore said he will look at alternative measures to use there.

The policy change came after a week of protests and riots locally and nationally following the death of Floyd, who was in handcuffs and pleading that he could not breathe as a Minneapolis police officer kept a knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. The incident was caught on video.

San Diego County, like other places across the nation, has seen days of demonstrations, protests and even riots as people decry police mistreatment of communities of color.

In a surprise announcement Monday, San Diego police Chief David Nisleit said his department would no longer use the restraint. Like San Diego, the Sheriff’s Department’s ban on the hold is effectively immediately. They are by far the two biggest law enforcement agencies in the region; San Diego Police Department has nearly 1,900 sworn officers, the Sheriff’s Department has 2,600, including detentions depu... (Read more)

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