US President Donald Trump backed the idea of ending choke holds by police officers while conducting arrests. Although, Trump sympathised with the police too and suggested the use of chokehold was ‘understandable in situations where an officer was in danger’.
In an interview to American news channel Trump was quoted as saying, “I don`t like choke holds … (but) sometimes, if you`re alone and you`re fighting someone, it`s tough… It would be, I think, a very good thing that, generally speaking, it should be ended.”
After the events that unfolded since the death of George Floyd on May 25, some Republicans in Congress have hinted at supporting a ban on choke holds, a move suggested by Democrats.
Floyd was an African American who died after a Minneapolis policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd`s death has ignited a wave of protests across America.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr, in an interview to televison channel on Monday had said he was in favor of banning choke holds, except in instances where Police officers were “confronted with potentially lethal force.”
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Tim Scott, who is crafting police reform legislation, told news agency that he and Democrats are in agreement that police should use choke holds “infinitely less.”