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California legislative leaders back deal to ban police chokeholds

Members of the California Assembly, shown in 2019, will not get pay raises this year and may see their salaries reduced because of the state budget crisis.(Robert Gourley / Los Angeles Times)

California’s Assembly speaker and other key lawmakers on Monday backed making it illegal statewide for police to use a type of neck hold that blocks the flow of blood to the brain, a proposal that appears to go beyond any other state.

Major law enforcement groups did not immediately say if they would oppose the move, which comes after a different restraint used by Minneapolis police was blamed for the death of George Floyd, triggering ongoing nationwide protests.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon endorsed legislation that fellow Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gipson said he will amend to make it illegal to use choke holds and a carotid artery restraint tactic to forcibly detain a suspect.

“We … have to change a culture of excessive force that seems to exist among some members of law enforcement,” Rendon said at a news conference. “This bill will end one brutal method that police use for restraining people.”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.