SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Gary Herbert has signed a bill banning police from using chokehold tactics to restrain people.
The governor signed House Bill 5007, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, that was run in response to protests over the death of George Floyd and racial inequality in Utah and across the country. The bill forbids police from using a "knee on the neck" method to restrain someone. It also prohibits Utah's police academies from teaching chokehold methods.
Gov. Herbert has promised more policing reforms. On Thursday afternoon, he was meeting with Black Lives Matter Utah chapter leader Lex Scott.
The bill was among 11 signed by the governor from the legislature's latest special session.Most of the other bills were in response to COVID-19 and the ongoing economic fallout from the pandemic.
