Wauwatosa Common Council passes ordinance banning chokeholds

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Wauwatosa Common Council voted to pass an ordinance Tuesday, Aug. 4, that bans Wauwatosa police from using neck restraints on suspects.

The council voted 10-4 in favor of the ordinance.

Police now cannot use chokehold techniques while trying to subdue a suspect.

Critics of the ordinance say they are worried about taking away a technique used to defend officers, while others who support the ordinance say there is no proper training to use chokeholds and consider it "assault."

"I'll tell you if I'm in a fight, rolling around on the ground, at one point maybe fighting for possession of my weapon to retain it so nothing bad happens or something worse happens, there are going to be a lot of things I use that aren't traditional in street fighting."

"I've always considered if someone gets into a scrap and they're rolling around and one chokes another person, I call that assault."

Supporters say they hope departments can replace chokeholds with other self defense techniques.