#Cousins;

New York lawmakers have passed a new bill that has officially banned the use of chokeholds by police officers!

Chokeholds have a long and fatal history of either severely injuring or directly causing immediate death.

According to Syracuse news the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act makes the use of a chokehold by police a felony and will now be identified as a crime of aggravated strangulation. Any officer that uses this now banned move will face up to a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Reports read that an offense would occur if a officer uses a chokehold or a similar form of restraint where pressure is applied to the throat or windpipe of a person. Also noting that criminalization will occur if a officer stops an individual from breathing causing them to die.

“The (New York Police Department) ban on chokeholds was not enough to protect Eric Garner, and it is not enough today,”states  Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie within a forwarded statement. “This legislation will put an end to the practice across the state.”