A New York City Police Department officer, Omar Habib, was found guilty on Thursday of felony strangulation and using a prohibited chokehold during an arrest in the Bronx, marking the first conviction under the city’s 2020 chokehold ban enacted after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. The case represents a significant moment for police accountability in New York City since the law’s passage.

Habib was convicted of the misdemeanor established under the chokehold ban, along with second-degree felony strangulation and third-degree misdemeanor assault. The felony conviction carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. He was held without bail by Bronx Criminal Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Isales and has been dismissed from the NYPD as required by law.

The incident happened at a Bronx catering hall on July 28, 2023, when Habib responded to a 911 call about a drunk and disorderly man. Prosecutors said Habib put the man in a chokehold so tight that it restricted his breathing and circulation, causing him to lose consciousness. The law he violated makes it a crime for police officers to use chokeholds or apply certain pressures to a person’s torso during an arrest. The measure was passed in 2020, after George Floyd’s murder prompted nationwide protests and calls for police reform. The law was challenged by police unions but was upheld by New York state’s highest court in 2023.

Habib’s attorney argued that other factors, including the man’s intoxication, could have caused him to pass out. However, the jury found the evidence supported the charges. Before his arrest, Habib had a documented history of misconduct, including substantiated complaints about excessive force, a previous chokehold incident in 2017, and allegations of lying under oath and tampering with evidence in a 2016 gun raid, which led to several defendants withdrawing guilty pleas.

The verdict has drawn criticism from police union leaders. Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, said the conviction is "further proof of a grim reality: 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."

The city’s chokehold ban was created to prevent excessive force incidents similar to the deaths of George Floyd and Eric Garner. While police use of chokeholds was already banned by NYPD policy, officers were rarely prosecuted prior to this law. Habib’s sentencing date has not yet been set, but he faces up to seven years in prison.

Scott Sloan