In response to police restraint on vendor Eric Garner in July that caused the man's death, New York City Councilman Rory Lancman filed on Thursday a bill criminalizing the use of chokehold by cops. However, NYC Police Commissioner William Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio are against the proposal.

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In justifying his proposal, Lancman said, quoted by the New York Daily News, "Relying on NYPD policy to eliminate choke holds isn't working very well. We need to up the ante."

The NYPC prohibits since 1993 the use of chokehold or other moves that restricts a person's windpipe as a method to restrain suspects or criminals, but the act is not a criminal offense.

Minus the backing of the mayor, who has said the use of chokehold should be covered by NYPD's policies, the bill would have a hard time becoming a law. Bratton added that the department's policies are enough and the act does not need to be criminalized, ABC reports.

A grand jury is still conducting hearings on the Garner case after a medical examiner attributed the 43-year-old cigarette vendor's death to neck and chest compression while on a lying position as he was restrained by a cop who used chokehold, making the case a homicide.

While Garner's death resulted in Bratton ordering the city's 35,000 cops from avoiding the use of the chokehold, the mayor said on Wednesday that restraining the entire force from using various approaches to restrain suspects or criminals is not the proper way. De Blasio insisted in September that police officers should have some flexibility and added on Wednesday that life-or-death situations faced by officers should warrant their use of the controversial restraint method.

He stressed that there are some exceptional situations that should allow officers to use the chokehold to defend themselves against perpetrators who intend to kill the cop.

TagsPolice chokehold, Bill de Blasio, Eric Garner