Pasadena Police Department Suspends Use of Carotid Restraint Hold

The Pasadena Police Department announced on Sunday that the department has suspended the use of the carotid restraint control hold.

The hold — also known as a sleeper hold — is a method of rendering a person unconscious by restricting the flow of blood to the brain by compressing the sides of the neck where the carotid arteries are located.

The Pasadena police department’s decision comes on the heels of concerns about the hold at the state level.

On Friday morning, Governor Newsome expressed his concerns about the use of the carotid restraint control hold by California Police officers.
Newsom called for an end of the carotid hold at a press briefing Friday.

“Across this country we train techniques on strangleholds that put peoples’ lives at risk,” Newsom remarked.

Newsom expressed his concerns following two weeks of protests in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.

Floyd died on Memorial Day after a police officer used a form of the carotid hold, putting his knee on his neck for several minutes.

Newsom has directed the California’s Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) to stop providing training in the use of the hold and has introduced new legislation (AB 1196) which is intended to ban the use of the CRCH.

The department is expecting to get further clarity regarding this issue in the next few weeks.