In 2010, New York State first passed an anti-strangulation law. Over the next 15 weeks, 2,000 individuals were charged with strangulation. New York City reported the highest number of arrests for strangulation in the state. I often use this as an example of a good and necessary law—the NYS legislature passes hundreds of laws each year, most of which have little shelf life beyond their press conference. In 2010, the fact that police officers were ready and eager to charge strangulation, to me, was a demonstration that this behavior had been recognized for a long time, and officers just needed the right legal tool to address it.

I reflected on the history of that activism, and on the medical information I had myself learned, as a lawyer, when we all saw the effect of 8 minutes and 47 seconds of pressure on the neck of George Floyd.