At its next regular meeting on Thursday, April 15th at 5:30 p.m., the Board of Fire &
Police Commissioners will discuss and consider a resolution to modify or eliminate the
deadly force exception to the ban on chokeholds and strangleholds contained in
Milwaukee Police Department Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 460 – Use of
Force.
Under the current version of SOP 460, members of the police department are prohibited
from using chokeholds or strangleholds unless the member reasonably believes it is
necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. Specifically, SOP 460.25(E) states
that:
Police members shall not engage in chokeholds, strangleholds, lateral
vascular neck restraints, carotid restraints, or any other tactic that restricts
oxygen or blood flow to the head or neck unless the member is involved in
a deadly force situation and has reasonably exhausted all other options
and tactics. Deadly force shall only be used when the officer reasonably
believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to
himself/herself or others. (emphasis added)
The proposed resolution would modify or eliminate this deadly force exception to the
ban on chokeholds and strangleholds, potentially banning such tactics under any
circumstances.
The Board of Commissioners welcomes public comments at the beginning of each
meeting. Those who will not be attending the virtual meeting may email their public
comments to fpc@milwaukee.gov. All FPC meeting notices are available on the City of
Milwaukee Legistar System.
This will be a virtual meeting that will be conducted via Microsoft Teams. Those wishing
to view the proceedings can do so at http://city.milwaukee.gov/citychannel and use Live
Stream 1. Those wishing to join the meeting for public comment can do so at:
https://bit.ly/3d2sCnQ.
