Policing group says officers must change how and when they use physical force on US streets

An influential group of law enforcement leaders is pushing police departments across the U.S. to change how officers use force when they subdue people and to improve training so they avoid “consistent blind spots” that have contributed to civilian deaths.

Calling the use of force “a defining issue in policing today,” the Police Executive Research Forum released extensive new guidance it says can reduce the risks of deaths following police restraint. The group credited an ongoing investigation led by The Associated Press for inspiring the reforms.

<bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> More than 1,000 people have died after police used tactics that are not meant to kill </bsp-custom-headline>

The AP and its reporting partners created a database of more than 1,000 deaths over a decade after officers used tactics meant to subdue people without killing them — the same category of force that killed George Floyd.

The research forum’s recommendations — spanning better coordination with medical responders, de-escalation tactics and adherence to long-standing safety warnings — apply to all incidents officers handle.

But the group focused on a particular type of case that AP’s investigation repeatedly documented: People in a medical, mental or drug crisis who die after police use physical blows, restraints or weapons like Tasers. The group’s report shifts the focus from blaming those with mental illness and addiction for their own deaths.

“These people are not suspects. They are patients,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who two years ago took over a department at the center of calls for change after Floyd was killed there in 2020. “This is not just about making it safer for a patient. It’s about increasing safety for