The National Police Association Asks DOJ Civil Rights Division to Investigate Prosecution of Former NYPD Officer Omar Habib

The complaint asks Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon to examine whether the application of New York City Administrative Code § 10-181, commonly known as the city's "Anti-Chokehold Act," deprived Habib of rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Habib was convicted by a Bronx jury on August 13, 2026, of second-degree strangulation, third-degree assault, and violating the Anti-Chokehold Act in connection with the July 29, 2023 arrest of an intoxicated and disorderly individual who resisted arrest. Habib was reportedly the first NYPD officer criminally prosecuted in Bronx County under the 2020 ordinance.

"The Constitution protects police officers just as it protects every other American," said Eddie Hutchison, President of the National Police Association. "Government cannot demand that officers physically control resisting suspects and then subject those officers to criminal prosecution under standards that fail to provide fair notice of when otherwise lawful physical restraint becomes a crime. We are asking the Justice Department to determine whether that happened to Omar Habib."

The NPA's complaint raises several issues it believes warrant federal investigation.

Among them is the absence of an express culpable mental state in § 10-181 concerning the physiological consequence prohibited by the ordinance. Police officers routinely must make split-second decisions while physically struggling with resisting arrestees. The NPA is asking DOJ to examine whether imposing criminal liability under those circumstances, without requiring constitutionally adequate proof of culpability concerning the prohibited restriction of breathing or blood flow, satisfies federal due-process requirements.

The complaint also asks DOJ to examine whether the law provided Habib constitutionally adequate fair notice of the point at which legally authorized physical restraint of a resisting person became criminal conduct.

Of particular importance is Habib's justification defense.

When the New York Court of Appeals upheld § 10-181 against a facial challenge in Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, Inc. v. City of New York, the court emphasized that New York's statutory justification defenses remained available to defendants prosecuted under the ordinance.

The NPA is therefore asking the Civil Rights Division to obtain Habib's trial record, including the charge conference, jury instructions, verdict sheet, motions, and rulings, and determine whether Habib actually received the meaningful protection of police justification law contemplated by the state's highest court.

The complaint additionally asks DOJ to investigate the ordinance's enforcement history since its enactment in 2020.

The NPA wants federal investigators to compare Habib's prosecution with other NYPD incidents involving alleged chokeholds, neck restraints, airway restrictions, or similar uses of force and determine how many resulted in criminal referrals, declined prosecutions, administrative discipline, or no action.

"If comparable incidents were routinely handled administratively while Habib was singled out for criminal prosecution, the public deserves to know why," Hutchison said. "Criminal laws cannot be enforced against police officers according to political pressure or standards that change from case to case."

The NPA emphasized that its complaint does not ask DOJ to retry disputed factual questions decided by the jury. Instead, it requests an examination of whether the governmental process used to investigate, charge, try, convict, and deprive Habib of his liberty complied with the United States Constitution.

The organization has requested prompt review because Habib has already been convicted and post-verdict proceedings remain ongoing.

"Accountability for genuine police misconduct and constitutional protection for accused officers are not competing principles," Hutchison said. "Police officers are entitled to due process, fair notice, lawful defenses, and equal treatment under the law. The National Police Association is asking the Civil Rights Division to determine whether Omar Habib received them." The NPA's complaint can be read here. 

The National Police Association (NPA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting for law enforcement through advocacy, education, and the courts. For more information, visit NationalPolice.org.

Media Contact:

Eddie Hutchison

302-469-1765

421154@email4pr.com 

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SOURCE National Police Association