‘Knee to neck’ is not a tactic for officers: former Delta PD chief

DELTA (NEWS 1130) — Putting a knee on someone’s neck is not how you should restrain someone during an arrest, according to a former Delta Police chief.

On Monday, 46-year-old George Floyd was pinned facedown on the ground, in handcuffs, by a white police officer who knelt on the back of Floyd’s neck. The unarmed black man died in police custody.

Jim Cessford, who has spent 47 years in law enforcement, says ‘knee to neck’ is not a tactic.

“Neck restraints are totally unacceptable and they’re not an approved policy by police,” he says.

Cessford says officers are taught to instead put a knee in between the shoulder blades to pin down a suspect.

“Here in British Columbia, and I’m sure I can speak for right across Canada, that’s not an acceptable use of force and restraint. It’s something that the police departments would certainly discourage from their members,” he says.

“It’s just too dangerous. It’s too risky and it can ultimately result in death.”

The West Vancouver Police Department adds while it can’t speak for all local departments, “officers are not trained specifically in knee-to-neck tactics during force options training.”

The Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired this week and later charged with murder and manslaughter.

The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, John Harrington, announced that Chauvin was arrested and taken into custody Friday.

The arrest comes after three days of protests, which escalated in violence as demonstrators torched a police precinct.

NEWS 1130 has also reached out to the Justice Institute of BC but has not received a response.

– With files from Nikitha Martins and The Associated Press

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today