New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the NYPD for its swift action after it suspended an officer hours after he was seen putting his arm around a man's neck. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the man was put in an "apparent chokehold," which was recorded on video by passersby on a beach boardwalk in Queens on Sunday, CBS reports. In the video, a witness can be heard yelling "Stop choking him, bro!" The officer with his arm around the man's neck relaxed his grip after another officer tapped him on the back, a move that de Blasio said was "exactly the right thing." "I commend him. That is what we need to see from all our officers," the mayor tweeted.
The NYPD banned chokeholds in 1993 and they were recently criminalized by both the city and the state, reports the Washington Post. It's not clear whether the officer in Sunday's incident will be charged. "Accountability in policing is essential. After a swift investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau, a police officer involved in a disturbing apparent chokehold incident in Queens has been suspended without pay," Shea said in a statement Sunday. Police also released body camera footage of the incident. "Today was the fastest I have EVER seen the NYPD act to discipline an officer," the mayor tweeted. "Within hours: Immediate suspension. Body camera footage released. Discipline process initiated. This is how it needs to be." (More chokehold stories.)
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