Police training expert speaks about fatal Minneapolis incident
A police training expert shared perspective with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on the cell phone video, showing the incident involving Minneapolis police and George Floyd.
Mylan Masson worked as a police officer for 20 years and ran police training for the state of Minnesota at Hennepin Technical College until 2016.
“Somebody died in the process of being arrested, which is never something we want to have,” Masson said.
The cell phone video, taken by a bystander, shows an officer using his knee as a means of putting pressure on Floyd’s neck.
A neck restraint is listed as a “non-deadly force option” in the Minneapolis Police Department Policy & Procedure Manual, according to the police.
The Unconscious Neck Restraint shall only be applied in the following circumstances:
- On a subject who is exhibiting active aggression, or;
- For life saving purposes, or;
- On a subject who is exhibiting active resistance in order to gain control of the subject; and if lesser attempts at control have been or would likely be ineffective.
- Neck restraints shall not be used against subjects who are passively resisting as defined by policy.
“It is a control technique, so you can make sure that if you control the head, you can control the rest of the body,” Masson explained. “But of course, there are parameters on that. We do a light pressure on there, just enough to stop the threat and we also make sure that, of course, the person isn’t going to be harmed in any way.”