Missouri lawmakers pass bill to limit police use of chokeholds

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have passed a bill to limit police use of chokeholds in a move driven by the death of George Floyd.

The House voted 140-4 Thursday to send the bill to Republican Gov. Mike Parson. Gov. Parson has previously told lawmakers he would veto a bill that bans chokeholds.

The bill’s passage represents a rare step by state lawmakers to take action in response to police violence.

Little has been done by Missouri’s Republican Legislature since a white Ferguson police officer fatally shot unarmed Black 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014.

The Missouri bill was prompted by another Black man’s death, Floyd. Under the bill, police could only use chokeholds in self-defense.

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