BREAKING NEWS

New York City police officer arrested after apparent chokehold arrest

By REUTERS

JUNE 25, 2020 22:02

A New York City police officer was arrested on Thursday and charged with strangulation and attempted strangulation after videos emerged over the weekend that appeared to show him using an illegal chokehold to arrest a man on a boardwalk, police said.

The officer, David Afanador, had already been suspended from the New York Police Department without pay. Afanador, 39, turned himself in to be arrested at a police station house, the NYPD said. He pleaded not guilty at an initial court appearance, his lawyer said.

The NYPD has banned chokeholds since 1993, warning they can be deadly. Earlier this month, as part of a package of police reform bills spurred by the nationwide protests against police violence, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation making it a crime for officers to use chokeholds and similar neck restraints.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, whose office is prosecuting Afanador, said in a statement that her office has "zero tolerance for police misconduct," and that officers are trained to de-escalate volatile encounters.

Afanador's lawyer, Stephen Worth, said prosecutors were more focused on making a "splashy" arrest than conducting a fair investigation.

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