Yonkers police commissioner tells officers to stay out of NYC amid chokehold ban
Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller orders officers to halt enforcement activity in New York City out of concern over a recently enacted chokehold ban.
Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday that he has instructed his department to halt any enforcement activity in New York City out of concern over a recently enacted “reckless and irresponsible” chokehold ban, which places limitations on the ways in which arrests can be made.
Officials from two other police departments overseeing the region that neighbors New York City, including Westchester County Police, which is near Yonkers just north of the city, and Suffolk County Police, which is located on Long Island, also implemented similar orders.
Administrative Code section 10-18, makes it a misdemeanor crime for an arresting officer to restrain someone “in a manner that restricts the flow of air or blood by compressing the windpipe or the carotid arteries on each side of the neck, or sitting, kneeling, or standing on the chest or back in a manner that compresses the diaphragm, in the course of effecting or attempting to effect an arrest," according to the bill.
On Friday, Mueller announced he, with support from the mayor, was ordering the department's police officers to discontinue any law enforcement activity in New York City.
“It's a very sad day,” Mueller said on Sunday. “I never thought we’d see this in my time in policing.”
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“You're seeing a lot of different agencies that surround the five boroughs following suit,” he added.
Host Griff Jenkins asked Mueller if he thinks that New York City Council members “were hasty in their decision, rushing to get some sort of thing on the bill without really fully considering the impact it would have on the fundamental job that officers have, which is to enforce the law?”
“I would characterize it as nothing short of reckless and irresponsible,” Mueller said in response.
He acknowledged that “we want police reform” and “understand the need for it.”
He then said, “It’s important to note that the NYPD has been the light for a lot of other law enforcement agencies as far as leading progressive policies, policies that are in tune with how we police our people.”
Mueller said “it’s just a shame that we have New York City Council, that seems to be operating in echo chamber, that isn't particularly interested in talking to experts, and sharing opinions and giving opinions and reasoning together.”
He went on to say that “when you do things like this hastily, there are going to be consequences and unfortunately the consequences are going to affect the folks that need us the most.”
NYPD officials have repeatedly expressed opposition to the bill, both before and after it was signed into law by the mayor.
“Anyone who has ever arrested anybody, who has fought and struggled, knows that there is a good chance that your knee may end up on someone’s back,” NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said at a press conference earlier this month, according to NY1.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea slammed city lawmakers in an appearance on CNN, claiming that six police reform bills signed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Wednesday are “handcuffing the police.”
Shea said on Thursday that public safety would be negatively impacted by the police reform bills, which include a ban on chokeholds, especially given the city is experiencing a huge increase in shootings in recent weeks.
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De Blasio did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Fox News’ Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
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