Las Cruces chokehold settlement, New Mexico city to pay $6.5M

 Las Cruces chokehold settlement, New Mexico city to pay $6.5M.

Las Cruces, N.M., will pay $6.5 million to the family of Mexican American man who was choked to death by a police officer, reports the Associated Press. A settlement agreement made public this week calls for the city to pay the family of Antonio Valenzuela within 30 days and promises that officials will institute various police reforms. Under the settlement, Las Cruces police agreed to ban all chokeholds and fire any officer who violates the new policy. The city also must try to adopt a warning system involving officers who use excessive force and require officers to undergo yearly mental health exams. Any police reforms must be approved by the city council.

Valenzuela, 40, was being sought for a parole violation and fought with officers who tried to detain him after he fled from a traffic stop in February. After a chase, then-Las Cruces Officer Christopher Smelser applied the chokehold. Smelser, who is Hispanic, can be heard on police video saying, “I’m going to (expletive) choke you out, bro.” Valenzuela died at the scene. The coroner determined he died from asphyxial injuries and that he had methamphetamine in his system, which contributed to his death. Smelser was fired and faces a second-degree murder charge. Smelser’s attorney, Amy Orlando, said Smelser had been trained to use the hold and the murder charge was a political move meant to grab headlines. The death of Valenzuela generated protests in Las Cruces, 46 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Months later, there were renewed protests after George Floyd’s death.

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