Are police allowed to use chokeholds anywhere in the U.S.?

Yes, in places that have not banned them, a neck restraint can still be legal if it is objectively reasonable under Graham v. Connor. Where the hold is likely to cause death or serious injury, it is treated as deadly force and is only justified against someone posing a significant threat under Tennessee v. Garner.

What is the difference between a chokehold and a carotid restraint?

A respiratory or airway chokehold puts pressure on the windpipe and blocks breathing. A vascular or carotid restraint compresses the arteries on the sides of the neck to reduce blood flow to the brain. Some laws ban both, while others ban only airway chokeholds but still permit trained carotid holds.

Did the federal government ban chokeholds?

A 2022 executive order bars federal law enforcement officers from using chokeholds and carotid restraints unless deadly force is authorized, and ties some federal grant money to state and local agencies adopting similar limits. It binds federal agents directly but only encourages, rather than forces, local departments to follow suit.

Which states have banned police chokeholds?

Many have since 2020, including California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and New Jersey, among others. The rules differ: some ban neck restraints outright, some allow them only when deadly force is justified, and some classify any neck restraint as deadly force.

Can I sue if an officer used a chokehold on me?

Possibly, through a federal civil rights claim under Section 1983 for an unreasonable seizure, or under a state civil-rights or assault statute. Qualified immunity can be a hurdle, but a clear written ban helps show the law was clearly established. Get medical documentation, preserve any video, and contact a civil rights attorney quickly because claim deadlines can be short.

Can Police Use Chokeholds? | Know Your Rights

Q: Can police use chokeholds?

It depends on the jurisdiction. There is no nationwide ban, but a federal executive order restricts chokeholds for federal agents, many states now prohibit or limit them, and a large share of local departments have banned them by policy. Whether a particular hold is legal turns on state law, department policy, and whether the force was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.

Searches & Seizures · Updated Jun 24, 2026 · 5 min read · Reviewed by the Observed.org Editorial Team

There is no single nationwide answer to whether police can use chokeholds. Whether a neck restraint is legal depends on three layers of rules: the U.S. Constitution, the laws of the state you are in, and the policy of the specific department whose officer is involved. Since the 2020 death of George Floyd, that landscape has changed dramatically. Many states now ban or sharply restrict chokeholds, the federal government restricts them for its own agents, and a large share of local departments have written them out of their use-of-force manuals. But the rules are far from uniform, and the words people use loosely can describe very different physical acts.

What counts as a chokehold?

Police trainers usually split neck restraints into two categories, and the legal treatment often follows that split.

Respiratory (airway) chokeholds: pressure applied to the front of the neck against the windpipe, cutting off breathing. This is what most people picture when they hear the word chokehold.
Vascular (carotid) restraints: pressure applied to the sides of the neck against the carotid arteries to reduce blood flow to the brain, sometimes called a sleeper hold, lateral vascular neck restraint, or carotid control hold.

Some laws ban both. Others ban only airway chokeholds while still permitting trained carotid restraints, and a few treat any pressure to the neck as deadly or near-deadly force. Because the terminology varies between statutes and policies, the same maneuver can be legal in one jurisdiction and a crime in another.

The constitutional standard: the Fourth Amendment

Any use of force during an arrest or stop is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, so it must be objectively reasonable. The controlling case is Graham v. Connor (1989), which says courts judge force from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, weighing the severity of the crime, whether the person posed an immediate threat, and whether they were actively resisting or fleeing. Graham does not name specific techniques, so a chokehold is not automatically unconstitutional. The question is always whether that level of force was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances.

When a neck restraint is likely to cause death or serious injury, it is treated as deadly force, and the stricter rule from Tennessee v. Garner (1985) applies: deadly force is justified only when the officer has probable cause to believe the person poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm. An officer who applies a deadly chokehold on someone who is merely uncooperative, not dangerous, is acting outside that standard.

One older case still cited is City of Los Angeles v. Lyons (1983), where the Supreme Court let a chokehold policy survive a lawsuit on technical standing grounds. It did not bless chokeholds as constitutional; it held that a person already released could not get an injunction without showing he would likely be choked again. That ruling is about who can sue, not about whether the hold itself is lawful.

The federal restriction

A 2022 federal executive order on policing bars federal law enforcement agents from using chokeholds and carotid restraints unless deadly force is authorized. It also conditions certain federal grant money to state and local agencies on those agencies adopting similar limits. That order binds federal officers directly, but it cannot force a city or state to change its rules. It works as a financial incentive, which is why adoption at the local level is uneven.

State and local bans

This is where the biggest changes have happened, and where the answer most depends on where you are. Since 2020, a long list of states has passed laws restricting neck restraints, including California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey, and others. The details vary widely:

Some states ban chokeholds outright in nearly all circumstances.
Some allow a neck restraint only when deadly force would be justified.
Some ban airway chokeholds but still permit trained carotid holds.
Some classify any neck restraint as deadly force, which automatically raises the legal bar.
A number of states also impose a duty to intervene, requiring an officer who sees a colleague using a banned hold to stop it and report it.

New York went further than most with a criminal statute, sometimes called the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, that can make applying a chokehold that causes injury or death a felony. Beyond statutes, thousands of individual departments have banned the practice through internal policy even where state law is silent. So the practical reality is that in much of the country a chokehold is now prohibited, but the exact rule turns on your state and the agency involved.

What a ban actually means for accountability

Even where a hold is banned, the consequences for an officer who uses one run on separate tracks. A policy violation can lead to discipline or firing. A criminal neck-restraint statute can support assault, manslaughter, or homicide charges. And a civil rights lawsuit under Section 1983 can seek money damages for an unreasonable seizure. Those civil suits often run into qualified immunity, which shields officers unless they violated clearly established law, though several states have created their own civil-rights claims that limit that defense. A clear written ban makes it easier to argue the law was clearly established.

What to do if you encounter this

You will rarely be in a position to stop force in the moment, so the goal is to survive the encounter and preserve a record afterward.

Do not physically resist. Fighting back, even against an unlawful hold, gives officers a legal justification for more force and can lead to new charges. Comply now and challenge it later.
Say you cannot breathe, loudly and repeatedly, if a neck restraint is applied. It is both a survival signal and important evidence.
Get medical attention immediately afterward and ask that any injuries to your neck, eyes, or throat be documented.
Preserve evidence. Identify witnesses, note officer names and badge numbers, and look for nearby surveillance, bodycam, or bystander video. Bystanders have a First Amendment right to record police in public.
Invoke the right to remain silent and ask for a lawyer before answering questions. Talk to a civil rights attorney promptly, because notice-of-claim deadlines for suing a government agency can be short.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Chokehold and neck-restraint rules differ sharply by state and department and change often. For your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most current law or the law in your jurisdiction. Laws vary by state and change over time. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.