AB 490 – Prohibits Arrest Techniques And Transport Methods That Create Risk Of Positional Asphyxia

In 2020, the Legislature enacted Government Code Section 7286.5, which prohibits California law enforcement agencies from authorizing the use of a carotid restraint or choke hold by any peace officer employed by the agency.

AB 490 expands that law to also prohibit agencies from authorizing the use by peace officers of any technique or transport method that involves a substantial risk of positional asphyxia, which the bill defines as situating a person in a manner that compresses their airway and reduces the ability to sustain adequate breathing. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of physical restraints that compresses the airway or impairs a person’s breathing, including the unreasonable application of pressure or body weight against a restrained person’s neck, torso, or back, or positioning a restrained person without reasonable monitoring for signs of asphyxia.

(AB 490 amends Section 7286.5 of the Government Code.)