NYPD cop found guilty of chokehold in first conviction since restraint tactic banned after George Floyd death

A New York City Police Department officer was found guilty on Thursday of strangulation and using a prohibited chokehold, marking the first time an NYPD officer was convicted under the city's 2020 chokehold ban, enacted after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin.

Omar Habib was convicted of the misdemeanor established under the law prohibiting certain restraint tactics by police officers.

He was also found guilty of second-degree felony strangulation and third-degree misdemeanor assault.

The felony strangulation conviction carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

Bronx Criminal Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Isales ordered him held without bail.

Habib, who was earlier suspended without pay, was terminated from the police department following his felony conviction after serving since 2007.

The NYPD said his termination was required by law.

NYC JUDGE SEEKS TO MAKE EXAMPLE OF OFFICER WHO THREW COOLER AT FLEEING SUSPECT, CAUSING FATAL CRASH He was responding to a 911 call at a Bronx catering hall on July 28, 2023, when a drunk and disorderly man resisted arrest , according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.

Prosecutors said Habib put the man in a chokehold so tight that it impeded his breathing and circulation and caused him to lose consciousness.

Habib’s attorney argued during the trial that other factors could have caused the man to pass out, such as drinking without eating enough food.

Before his arrest, Habib had a history of substantiated misconduct complaints about excessive use of force and abusing his authority.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated an allegation that Habib used a chokehold in a separate 2017 encounter.

Habib was also accused of lying under oath and tampering with evidence in a 2016 gun raid, resulting in several defendants withdrawing their guilty pleas.

The president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, Patrick Hendry, denounced Thursday's verdict.