A New York City police officer has been convicted of misdemeanor strangulation, assault, and violating a local law banning chokeholds, making him the first officer prosecuted under the legislation enacted after the 2020 death of George Floyd. Omar Habib faces up to seven years in prison and has been dismissed from the New York Police Department.
Bronx Criminal Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Isales ordered Habib held without bail. The conviction stems from an incident in 2023 when Habib, responding to a 911 call at a Bronx catering hall, allegedly placed a man in a chokehold that impeded his breathing and circulation, causing him to pass out. The man had been resisting arrest.
Habib's attorney argued that other factors, such as the man's alcohol consumption, could have caused him to lose consciousness. The 2020 city law makes it a crime for officers to use chokeholds or apply body weight to a suspect's torso during an arrest. The law was upheld by New York state's highest court in 2023, despite challenges from police unions.
While NYPD regulations already prohibited most chokeholds, officers using them were rarely prosecuted. In contrast, an officer involved in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, who died during an arrest after a chokehold was applied, was fired but faced no criminal charges.
Prior to this conviction, Habib, who joined the NYPD in 2007, had a record of misconduct complaints, including accusations of excessive force and abuse of authority. He had been previously cited for using a chokehold in 2017, an incident that drew media attention regarding officers continuing to use banned restraints. Habib also faced accusations of perjury and evidence tampering in relation to a 2016 gun raid, which led to defendants withdrawing guilty pleas.
Patrick Hendry, president of a New York police union, stated that the verdict highlights the risks officers face and the difficulty of receiving a fair trial amid what he described as pervasive anti-police propaganda.