NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – NYPD Chief Terence Monahan said officers "can't be afraid" of accidentally breaking a new city law banning the use of chokeholds and similar techniques because the city's five district attorneys won't prosecute officers under the law.
"We can't be afraid. You've got every DA come out and say they're not gonna charge that," Monahan said, according to video of a closed-door CompStat meeting Thursday obtained by the New York Post.
The new law prohibits officers from kneeling on a suspect's back or chest while making an arrest.
Questioned by a deputy at the meeting about officers' fears of breaking the law during arrests, Monahan said fearful officers are risking their lives.
Monahan, who was among several NYPD members injured in clashes with protesters at the Brooklyn Bridge last week, said, "I wasn't afraid when I was fighting the guy on the Brooklyn Bridge."
"What happens to afraid cops is, they end up dead," Monahan said.
