CFA Thanks Governor Newsom for Signing AB 1196, Banning Carotid Chokeholds

SACRAMENTO — California Faculty Association (CFA) released a statement thanking Governor Gavin Newsom for signing AB 1196 into law and Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) for authoring this important legislation. The following quotes can be attributed to Charles Toombs, CFA President:

“CFA is a proud co-sponsor of AB 1196, which is now the law of the land, a necessary one, to eliminate the use of chokeholds and carotid artery restraints by law enforcement. The law creates a uniform statewide policy banning carotid restraints and ensure that this procedure can no longer be improperly applied on Californians.  

“Like the majority of our country, our union grieved the despicable murder of George Floyd to the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. We knew this problem was not an isolated one either. It was a California problem, too. According to a Los Angeles Times analysis of California Department of Justice data, ‘law enforcement reported officers seriously injured 103 people using carotid neck restraints’ between 2016 and 2018.

“On our colleges, we know our faculty and students of color are increasingly fearful of police on campuses. It’s why the CFA worked with Assemblymember Gipson to move swiftly to ban the unnecessary and illogical carotid restraint by police in California. We thank him for his important bill. And we thank the Governor for his support to social justice reform across the state. This is only the beginning for a fairer and decent justice system for all Californians.”

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA FACULTY ASSOCIATION: CFA represents more than 29,000 tenure-line instructional faculty, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches on the 23 campuses of the California State University system, from Humboldt State in the north, to San Diego State in the south. Learn more about CFA at calfac.org and visit our Facebook and Twitter pages.