Former Texas police officer convicted for using chokehold on handcuffed suspect

A former Texas police officer has been convicted on two misdemeanor counts for grabbing a handcuffed suspect by the throat during a 2016 traffic stop.

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports that a jury on Thursday found former Waco officer George Neville guilty of assault and official oppression for using a chokehold on a black man. The misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Neville has claimed that he acted in self-defense after an altercation with the suspect, Qualon Weaver, who had resisted an officer’s attempts to search him.

Ricky Bates has trained thousands of Central Texas police officers, including Neville. He testified that Weaver’s actions didn’t justify the chokehold, which he described as “deadly force.”

Neville’s sentencing hearing will be held in about three weeks.