HOUSTON – As he spoke at George Floyd’s funeral Tuesday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that he will sign an executive order that would ban chokeholds and strangleholds as tactics used by law enforcement in the city.
“As I speak right now, the city attorney is drafting an executive order, an order that I will sign when I get back to City Hall," Turner said. “What that order will say is that in this city, we will ban chokeholds and strangleholds. In this city, we will require de-escalation. In this city, you have to give a warning before you shoot. In this city, you have a duty to intervene."
He went on to say the executive order will require comprehensive reporting by police officers and officers will be required to exhaust all other non-fatal options before the use of lethal force.
As he spoke at the funeral, Turner’s office tweeted about the executive order as well.
The aspect raising eyebrows the most inside the law enforcement community is the order requiring officers to warn a suspect before they shoot. Thomas Nixon, a civil litigation attorney, said that aspect would place officers at greater risk.
“It’s only giving a tactical advantage to the suspect, and making it easier for them to kill the officer," Nixon said. "Which is just absolutely silly.”
The City Attorney is drafting an executive order that I will sign when I get back to City Hall banning choke holds and strangle holds. In this city, you must exhaust all alternatives before shooting. #GeorgeFloyd
— Houston Mayor's Office (@houmayor) June 9, 2020
KPRC 2 will provide more details on the executive order when they become available.