NYPD officer charged with using banned chokehold

By TOM HAYS and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer who was suspended after putting a man in what authorities said was a banned chokehold now faces criminal charges. The NYPD says officer David Afanador pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of strangulation and attempted strangulation over an altercation last weekend on the Rockaway Beach boardwalk. Video shows Afanador with his arm wrapped around a man’s neck for several seconds during an arrest. This is the second time Afanador has faced criminal charges. He was previously acquitted in 2016 for a case where he was accused of pistol-whipping a teenage suspect and breaking his teeth.