Boise Police suspend type of neck restraint, cite public input on controversial hold
The Boise Police Department announced Friday that it would suspend the use of a type of neck hold in response to a number of factors, including “community input.”
The neck hold — called a Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint, or LVNR — is a type of hold in which an officer purposefully puts pressure on a person’s carotid artery to cut off blood flow, which can cause a suspect to temporarily lose consciousness. More commonly, it could be referred to as a “sleeper hold.” Police say the LVNR is not a “chokehold” because it is not intended to cut off a person’s airway.
However, the department will do away with the technique, citing the public’s input as one of the guiding principles of the department. Use-of-force techniques involving chokeholds and pressure on a person’s neck in any form have been under further scrutiny since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, and many cities and even states have banned the moves.
“The Boise Police Department is committed to reviewing our policies regularly and will provide updates on any additional changes related to use of force,” the department wrote in a news release. “We will also continue to have meaningful conversations with our community and work toward a better future together.”
According to use-of-force data obtained by the Statesman via a records request, BPD officers reported using the LVNR technique 37 times in 2019.
At a City Council meeting earlier this month, acting Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said the department does not use chokeholds or the technique called into question following Floyd’s death — in which a police officer knelt on his neck, with Floyd face-down in the street, for over 8 minutes.
However, the LVNR is among those techniques that officers are trained to use if needed, and the department has said it is not a “chokehold.” Still, the move has been discontinued for now.
A copy of BPD’s policy and procedures manual obtained by the Statesman outlines how lateral vascular neck holds were previously used. Under the policy, prior to Friday’s announcement, any use of the LVNR had to be reported to a supervisor and undergo an “Administrative Use of Force Review,” also called a “Blue Team,” regardless of injury or complaint.
Other law enforcement agencies around the Treasure Valley employ the LVNR technique, according to the departments’ use-of-force policies. The police departments in Meridian, Caldwell and Nampa, as well as the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, have not discontinued the neck hold.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 2:16 PM.
