Santa Rosa Police End Use of Carotid Chokeholds

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After more than a week of continual protests and marches in opposition to police brutality, Santa Rosa Police Chief Ray Navarro announced on Tuesday that his department will end the use of the carotid neck restraint.

This widely criticized police tactic was publicly called out less than a week ago by Governor Gavin Newsom, who said it had no place in 21st century policing while announcing that he would move to ban it across the state. The restraint uses neck pressure to cut off blood to the brain, rendering a person unconscious.

The announcement comes as Mayor Tom Schwedhelm and the city of Santa Rosa commit to enacting many of the “8 Can’t Wait” police reforms, a series of steps being pushed nationwide that reform the way police departments engage in the use of force.

In interviews with News of the North Bay last week, both mayor Schwedhelm and chief Navarro said they would actively engage the community in an effort to drive reforms in Sonoma County’s largest police force. Part of that they say is bringing in a diverse group of community members to share their stories, their perspectives and their ideas for change.

Pushed by community pressure and following established procedure, the police department is currently investigating at least three incidents during last week’s protests in which demonstrators were injured by the use of non-lethal projectiles fired by officers. Many in the community say those investigations should be conducted by an independent panel.

The city is planning to host five Community Listening Sessions by the end of August, imput they say will be used by an independent police auditor to propose changes to how the police force operates. The city also says it plans to report to community what it learned in those sessions by the end of September.

All of this will be discussed at a Santa Rosa City Council meeting on June 30th.

On Monday, Police Chief Navarro met protesters for what he called an effort at community engagement. Although he said the department and city would be listening to the community, many on hand left unconvinced that real progress would be made.