ANTIOCH, Calif. (KRON) – A new police policy could be on the horizon for the Antioch Police Department in the form of a legislative proposal that would ban officers from using their knees to restrain people.
One of the people killed in Antioch police custody is 30-year-old Angelo Quinto.
Quinto’s mother, Cassandra Quinto Collins couldn’t hold back the tears when asked about the new legislative proposal.
“Yes! We think that this definitely could have prevented his death,” said Angelo’s sister, Bella Quinto.
“Yeah! I mean, you know. he would be alive today,” Cassandra said.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe is introducing the legislation to the City Council. He says it doesn’t stop with banning the knee to the neck.
“Can be anything from the prone techniques. Anything from laying your hands on somebody’s back and using all of your body weight to keep them down. That is something that could cause positional asphyxiation. Anything that obstructs the airways, we want to take a look at and ban from any use.”
Reforming the police department was a key part of his winning mayoral campaign and reducing in-custody deaths is the next step in keeping that campaign promise.
“It’s been part of the public debate for quite some time since our two recent in-custody deaths that were within 45-days of each other.”
Mayor Thorpe says if the City Council approves the legislation it will likely fast-track it in becoming a new police policy.
“We are talking maybe a month or two away,” Thorpe predicts.