The Queensland Police Service (QPS) have banned the use of a chokehold or stranglehold during arrests for all officers, effective immediately.
Queensland was the last state or territory to discontinue the use of the move, formally known as the Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint (LVNR).
The ban comes after the death of two men in the last five years who were subject to a chokehold during their arrests.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the decision was made following a 12-month review into the technique used by officers when applying force in high-risk situations.
"The QPS is committed to enhancing our practices to ensure we are delivering high-quality policing services to the community we proudly serve," Commissioner Carroll said.
"Having reviewed a range of evidence and information presented to me, I have made the decision to discontinue the use of the LVNR from the QPS Use of Force Model and no longer include the technique in our operational skills training.
"While it has been available to officers for a long time in Queensland, the options for officers to apply force in challenging and life-threatening situations have increased and broadened since its introduction over 30 years ago.
"The decision aligns Queensland with all other Australian policing jurisdictions who no longer use the technique."
Commissioner Carroll implemented a working group last year to specifically analyse the considerations around the use of the LVNR.
The group consisted of representatives from the Queensland Police Union, Crime and Corruption Commission and the Queensland Ambulance Service.
"I thank the working group for their efforts in researching this issue over several months, including our external members who also provided their important contribution in the process," she said.
'Wonderful news'
Former Indigenous advisor to Commissioner Carroll, Gracelyn Smallwood, welcomed news of the ban.
"It's a great thing, it's a wonderful thing," Ms Smallwood said.
"I just felt helpless as an advocate for the last 50 years, fighting injustice in the community".
The 72-year-old professor of nursing and Indigenous activist quit her role last month in protest, after Aboriginal man Aubrey Donahue was shot dead by police in north Queensland.
She had previously called for a ban on the use of the LVNR, following reports another Aboriginal man, Steven Nixon-McKellar, died after police used a chokehold on him when he resisted arrest in Toowoomba in October of last year.
"It just shows that community does have power, when things aren't working for people both black and white, they can come together and put pressure via the media."
In January last year, a coroner recommended a review of the LVNR after an inquest into the death of First Nations man Trevor King, known as Noombah.
The 39-year-old died after a violent confrontation with police near his Townsville home in February 2018, in which a police officer said he applied a restraint that was like a LVNR.
