Las Vegas police say that over the past decade, the number of times officers reported using carotid neck holds during arrests was cut nearly in half.
Still, a use-of-force report made public last week shows that officers used the choking method 51 times last year.
The technique was used early Sunday on an unarmed 40-year-old man who police say shook off the effects of a stun gun and punches before an officer squeezed his neck after a chase through a Las Vegas Strip resort.
The man was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. The cause of death was pending.
The restraint technique restricts blood flow to a person's brain and isn't supposed to block breathing.
Las Vegas police reported cutting its use from 88 times in 2007 to 45 times in 2015.