NYPD Officer Convicted in Landmark Chokehold Case, First Under 2020 Ban

A New York City police officer was convicted Thursday of strangulation and using a prohibited chokehold in what marks the first criminal conviction under the city’s 2020 chokehold ban. Officer Omar Habib, who served with the NYPD since 2007, was found guilty of the misdemeanor chokehold charge along with second-degree felony strangulation and third-degree misdemeanor assault. The 2020 law was passed in the wake of George Floyd’s May 2020 death at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Habib responded to a 911 call at a Bronx catering hall on July 28, 2023, where he encountered a drunk and disorderly man resisting arrest, according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. Prosecutors argued that Habib applied a chokehold so forcefully that it blocked the man’s breathing and blood circulation, causing him to lose consciousness. The officer’s attorney countered that other factors, including alcohol consumption on an empty stomach, could have caused the unconsciousness.

Judge Cynthia Isales of Bronx Criminal Supreme Court ordered Habib held without bail. He was subsequently terminated from the police department, a consequence the NYPD stated was mandated by law following his felony conviction. Habib had previously been suspended without pay.

Prior to this case, Habib’s record included substantiated complaints of excessive force and abuse of authority. The Civilian Complaint Review Board confirmed that Habib used a chokehold in a separate 2017 incident. He also faced allegations of perjury and evidence tampering during a 2016 gun raid, circumstances that led several defendants to withdraw guilty pleas.

Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, criticized the verdict, contending that officers face an unfair legal environment. “Every second police officers spend on this job puts them at risk of criminal prosecution, and pervasive anti-police propaganda has made it incredibly difficult to receive a fair trial,” Hendry said. The union has challenged the 2020 law, though New York’s highest court upheld it in 2023.

The 2020 measure prohibits chokeholds and certain pressure techniques targeting the chest or back that compress the diaphragm during arrest or attempted arrest. While NYPD policy had already restricted chokehold use in most situations before the law passed, officers were rarely prosecuted for violations. The conviction represents a significant shift in enforcement of restrictions on the restraint tactic.

The case echoes the 2014 death of Eric Garner during an arrest by NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who used a prohibited chokehold. Pantaleo was fired following a departmental disciplinary proceeding but was never criminally charged, despite Garner’s repeated statements that he could not breathe. That incident became a flashpoint in national protests over police use of force.