Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville police implementing '8 Can't Wait' demands

Police departments in Raleigh, Durham and Fayetteville are revisiting policies and procedures to reduce the use of excessive force, such as chokeholds and strangleholds.

Many departments are using recommendations from ‘8 Can’t Wait,’ a campaign started by advocacy group Campaign Zero calling for the restrictions on the use of deadly force.

The group asks that police departments adopt eight policies:

Kevin Cates, deputy chief of Durham Police, says these practices are already in place in the Bull City.

"We believe we do meet all eight of the suggestions that 8 Can’t Wait has asked police departments to do," Cates said.

Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said her department already addressed five of the eight recommendations, but will now implement a ban on chokeholds, will no longer shoot at moving vehicles and will commit to de-escalation.

Fayetteville’s Police Department teaches officers to use chokeholds only when deadly force is permitted, not to shoot without providing a verbal warning, and requires officers to intervene to stop use of excessive force.

Greear Webb, an activist with Raleigh Demands Justice, said the 8 Can’t Wait campaign is a good starting point, but he prefers seeing other changes within police departments, such as re-allocating money from police budgets into the communities they serve.

"I think it’s good natured and has good intention but I don’t think it goes far enough holding police officers accountable," Webb said.

Officers with all three departments said the knee to neck restraint used against George Floyd is different from a chokehold and is banned.