Takeaways from AP investigation on the struggle to change a police department

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Like many American cities, in June 2020 Tucson was struggling with the murder of George Floyd. What protesters didn’t know was that their city had two undisclosed deaths of Latino men who — like Floyd — said they could not breathe after officers pinned them face down.

Internal records obtained by The Associated Press shed new light on how the Tucson Police Department handled the deaths and their aftermath. The AP’s investigation also shows how a department’s efforts to embrace “progressive policing” and limit the use of force don’t always reach officers on the street and how internal culture can determine what a department tells the public.

Here are takeaways from the AP-led investigation, done in collaboration with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism programs at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University, and FRONTLINE (PBS):

12 minutes on stomach

In April 2020, none of the first officers to arrive at the home of Carlos Adrian Ingram Lopez ’s grandmother had discussed a plan.

The 66-year-old grandmother had called 911 after her 27-year-old grandson became aggressive. Ingram Lopez was naked and high on cocaine when the officers confronted him in the house’s cramped, unlit garage.

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