The Nevada state legislature passed a series of police reforms, including a ban on the use of chokeholds by officers.
The state Senate and assembly each passed separate policing reforms on Saturday. The assembly passed legislation that forbids the use of chokeholds while the Senate passed legislation that repealed some legal protections afforded to police officers being investigated for misconduct.
The assembly’s bill to ban chokeholds restricted the use of the technique unless the officer’s life is in danger. Assemblyman Steve Yeager, the Democratic lawmaker who sponsored the legislation, noted that the policy excludes any force that is designed to limit blood or oxygen to the brain, including kneeling on an individual’s neck, as was seen in the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. The bill was led by Democrats but did receive the support of some Republicans.
“I think it will actually improve community trust and make our organizations adopt some best practices that are utilized in our state already,” said Assemblyman Tom Roberts, a Republican.
The Senate’s bill repealed some legal protections given to officers from a bill passed in 2019. The legislation revoked a provision that placed a one-year statute of limitations on criminal complaints against officers and a provision that prohibited the court from using details from the officer’s compelled statement of the incident.
Several states and municipalities have implemented policing reforms following months of protests that took place after Floyd’s death. Congress also tried to prohibit the use of chokeholds in a bill written by Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, but Democrats blocked the legislation because they felt it did not go far enough.
