Queensland police officers will be banned from using chokehold restraints immediately, bringing the state into line with other jurisdictions.
The police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, made the announcement on Friday, saying options have changed for officers to apply force in challenging and life-threatening situations.
The lateral vascular neck restraint (LVNR), also known as the “sleeper”, was still being used by the Queensland police service (QPS) during combative arrests, despite being abandoned in all other states and territories.
Officers were trained to apply the hold during a violent struggle at the point of arrest.
It involved compressing the arteries and veins in the neck, cutting blood supply to the brain and leading “to altered levels of consciousness”.
Carroll said the LVNR restraint would be discontinued “as a use of force option for all officers effective immediately”.
“The QPS is committed to enhancing our practices to ensure we are delivering high-quality policing services to the community we proudly serve,” she said in a statement.
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“Having reviewed a range of evidence and information presented to me, I have made the decision to discontinue the use of the LVNR from the QPS Use of Force Model and no longer include the technique in our operational skills training.
“While it has been available to officers for a long time in Queensland, the options for officers to apply force in challenging and life-threatening situations have increased and broadened since its introduction over 30 years ago.”
But the Queensland Police Union (QPU) criticised the ban as a “kneejerk” reaction, saying the LVNR was a vital policing tool and called for a review instead.
“The QPU believes in having as many use of force options as practical to keep officers safe and does not support reducing use of force options for police and preferred a comprehensive review, as agreed by the QPS’ LVNR committee, rather than a ban,” union president Ian Leavers said.
“The Queensland Police Union does not support a ban on the use of the LVNR.”
Leavers said he feared banning the chokehold could backfire.
“It appears the QPS wants to take away use of force options and this will be detrimental to police and could very well affect community safety,” he said.
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“The QPS hierarchy are clearly more interested in pandering to the minority and disregarding officer safety and this is becoming more and more prevalent with the continual reduction in use of force options for police.
“The only thing banning the LVNR for police will do, is force police to become more reliant on batons, tasers and firearms.”
The use of the LVNR has been considered in four separate findings by Queensland coroners since 2011.
A coronial finding in 2011 into the death of Brisbane man Carl Antony Grillo said the LVNR hold should not be lethal if properly applied.
“If properly applied, a LVNR should have had no impact. Properly applied, a LVNR does not restrict the airway,” coroner Michael Barnes found.
However, the coroner said any application of the hold in a “dynamic situation” could be challenging and result in the windpipe being affected, even if momentarily.
The technique has been subject to ongoing review by Queensland Police.
Carroll set up a working group in 2022 involving the police union, the Crime and Corruption Commission and medical experts.
