NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said during a recent meeting that police officers shouldn’t be afraid of breaking the new chokehold ban, because no District Attorney will prosecute them, per the New York Daily News.
“We can’t be afraid,” Monahan said according to the New York Daily News. “We’ve got every D.A. come out and say they’re not going to charge that.”
“We can’t be afraid to do what we do. We can’t walk away,” he added.
New York is one of several places to ban the use of chokeholds following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after an officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes, video showed. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month calling for a ban on chokeholds, as well as increased funding for training programs.
“You know what? I wasn’t afraid when fighting the guy on the Brooklyn Bridge,” Monahan said. “We can’t be afraid. Do you know what happens? …. What happens to afraid cops is they end up dead.” (RELATED: NYPD Chief, Cops Hurt In Clash With Protesters On Brooklyn Bridge)
Monahan was attacked during a protest at the Brooklyn Bridge last week when a man resisted arrest and assaulted him. During the attack, multiple police officers were struck with a cane, NYPD said.
????WANTED for ASSAULT on NYPD Officers.
On July 15 at approximately 10:10 AM, on the Brooklyn Bridge while attempting to make an arrest an unidentified individual struck multiple police offices with a cane.
Have any info? Call/DM @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. All call are anonymous pic.twitter.com/cA6AKfg07B
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 16, 2020
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said that if District Attorneys won’t prosecute cops for breaking the chokehold ban, then “they need to say so publicly to the cops on the street,” New York Daily News reported.
“Otherwise, we have to assume that we are risking arrest any time we lay hands on a criminal who won’t go quietly,” he said. “Chief Monahan’s head-in-the-sand mentality isn’t helping us do our job.”