HB450 Alabama 2022 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Andrew SorrellAuditor

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2022

Title

Law enforcement, to prohibit a law enforcement officer from using an restraint that restricts blood flow to the neck or head, penalties, require law enforcement agencies to adopt anti four-point restraint policies

Summary

HB450 would ban police from using four-point restraints that pin someone face-down and require agencies to adopt policies to prohibit them, with a new misdemeanor for violations.

What This Bill Does

It defines four-point restraint and prohibits detaining or transporting someone by that method, and prohibits placing someone face-down in a way that restricts oxygen or blood flow to the head or neck. It requires every law enforcement agency to adopt policies banning four-point restraints. It creates a new Class A misdemeanor for officers who use four-point restraints in violation, and it becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage; it is exempt from local-fund expenditure rules because it creates a new crime.

Who It Affects

• Law enforcement agencies and officers: must update policies to ban four-point restraints and may face misdemeanor charges if they use such restraints.
• People in police custody or being transported: protected from four-point restraints and from face-down positions that restrict blood flow or oxygen.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits four-point restraint and placing someone face-down in a way that restricts oxygen or blood flow to the head or neck.
• Requires law enforcement agencies to prohibit the use of four-point restraints within their policies and procedures.
• Creates a Class A misdemeanor for violations of the four-point restraint prohibition.
• Defines terms (four-point restraint, law enforcement agency, and law enforcement officer) and notes that the bill is exempt from certain local-funding requirements because it creates a new crime; sets the effective date as the first day of the third month after passage.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Four-Point Restraint