In hundreds of deaths where police used force meant to stop someone without killing them, officers violated well-known guidelines for safely restraining and subduing people.
Most violations involved pinning people face down in ways that could restrict their breathing or stunning them repeatedly with Tasers, an Associated Press investigation found.
Some officers had little choice but to break policing best practices that are recommended by government agencies, law enforcement groups and training experts to save a life or protect someone.
Many violations were hard to explain. Some officers prematurely resorted to weapons or physical holds during routine calls or misread a person’s confusion as defiance in medical emergencies. In other cases, they kept applying force even after they had people handcuffed and controlled.
AP catalogued 1,036 deaths over a decade after officers had used force not involving their guns. In about half, medical officials ruled that law enforcement caused or contributed to the deaths, but they usually didn’t mention whether policing best practices were followed.
AP found:
— Officers breached guidelines in three or more ways in roughly 440 deaths, or about 45% of the time. In others, one mistake sometimes caused life-threatening injuries.
— Many who died were on drugs or alcohol, or had underlying medical conditions, making them more vulnerable to misapplied force, just as best practices forewarned.
— In about 30% of the deaths where police went outside the guidelines multiple times, the officers or bystanders were facing imminent or potential danger. Safety practices may excuse officers under those circumstances.
The AP found that over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them with physical force that is not supposed to be lethal. Explore the full database of cases here.
AP’s investigation, done the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism and FRONTLINE (PBS), covered 2012 through 2021.
Comments