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'Dangerous': Around World, Police Chokeholds Scrutinized

Associated Press

   LE PECQ, FRANCE - Three days afterGeorge Floyd diedwith a Minneapolis
   police officer choking off his air, another black man writhed on the
   tarmac of a street in Paris as a police officer pressed a knee to his
   neck during an arrest.

   Immobilization techniques where officers apply pressure with their
   knees on prone suspects are used in policing around the world and have
   long drawn criticism. One reason why Floyd's death is sparking anger
   andtouching nerves globallyis that such techniques have been blamed for
   asphyxiations and other deaths in police custody beyond American
   shores, often involving non-white suspects.

   "We cannot say that the American situation is foreign to us," said
   French lawmaker Francois Ruffin, who has pushed fora ban on the police
   use of face-down holdsthat are implicated in multiple deaths in France,
   a parliamentary effort put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.

   Themuscular arrest on May 28 in Parisof a black man who was momentarily
   immobilized face-up with an officer's knee and upper shin pressing down
   on his jaw, neck and upper chest is among those that have drawn angry
   comparisons with the killing of Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis.

   The Paris arrest was filmed by bystanders and widely shared and viewed
   online. Police said the man was driving under the influence of drugs
   and alcohol and without a license and that he resisted arrest and
   insulted officers. His case was turned over to prosecutors.

   In Hong Kong, where police behavior is a hot-button issue after months
   of anti-government protests, the city's force says it is investigating
   the death of a man who was immobilized face-down during his arrest in
   May by officerswho were filmedkneeling on his shoulder, back and neck.

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