KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — 10News reached out to Knoxville Police about its policy when it comes to neck restraints, a technique that has come under scrutiny after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
KPD said "there is nothing in the KPD training program that addresses or teaches knee and neck restraints together, or knees to the neck in any capacity."
The department noted there are various training techniques involving the knee, but none to the neck.
A KPD spokesperson said there is currently nothing in the training program that addresses or teaches knee and neck restraints together, or knees to the neck in any capacity.
There is a restraint called the bi-lateral neck restraint, which is "one singular and very specific neck restraint", that is trained.
"That technique, which does not restrict air flow, has been extensively researched and proven to not cause injury," said KPD spokesperson Scott Erland. "Officers are taught to release the restraint once compliance is obtained. There are various training techniques involving the knee, but none to the neck. When knees are used to limit the movement of a non-compliant subject, officers are trained to focus on the midsection and lower portions of the body."
Erland said the policy stipulates that officers should only utilize force that is "objectively reasonable to effectively bring an incident under control", and that it should only be used when "no reasonable effective alternative appears to exist."
The policy also said it considers "the unique nature of each encounter" and a variety of factors that figure into the decision making of the responding officer.
The preferred outcome of an encounter with a non-compliant subject, Erland said, is that the presence of an officer or deescalation techniques would be successful "obtaining compliance".
The use of knee and neck restraints has been largely criticized after the death of George Floyd, 46, who was restrained for nine minutes by a Minneapolis police officer who placed his knee on Floyd's neck.
Floyd lay on his stomach and told the officer he could not breathe in the minutes leading up to his death. He also told the officer he was "not That officer has now been charged with third-degree murder.