The police group says officers need to change their use of physical force

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

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

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

The research forum’s recommendations – which cover better coordination with medical staff, de-escalation tactics and compliance with long-standing safety warnings – apply to all officer-handled incidents.

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

“These people are not suspects. They’re 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. “It’s not just about doing this safer thing for a patient. It’s about increasing safety for everyone.” O’Hara plans to meet with his staff this week to discuss implementing the recommendations.

The deaths identified by the AP occurred across the board, affecting people from all walks of life, although people of color were disproportionately represented. In hundreds of cases, officers were not taught or did not follow well-known guidelines for safely detaining people. These types of mistakes were part of what pushed the research forum to action.

“Every police chief, sheriff, coach, officer and anyone else involved in these incidents should take the time to read these principles and put them into practice,” the recommendations read. “They can save lives.”

The Police Executive Research Forum, based in Washington, DC and led by police chiefs and administrators, wrote policy guidance on Tasers and body cameras at the request of the Justice Department. While the group mostly represents large city departments, its guidelines help inform policy and training standards in many agencies, and its work has been cited in court decisions and federal investigations.

In June, the group brought together about 20 experts to begin formulating recommendations from the AP-led investigation, conducted with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism programs at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University and FRONTLINE (PBS).

While some states have banned chokeholds and other tactics since Floyd’s death, sweeping changes have met with resistance. A federal reform package named in his honor did not make it to President Joe Biden’s desk.

“In these situations, the police need to know what they can do,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the research forum. “Because if it doesn’t go well, the police will be held accountable.”

The recommendations sent Saturday to hundreds of police leaders will be used in training programs the research forum operates, Wexler said.

Recognizing a crisis

While officers in about 30 percent of the deaths identified by the PA from 2012 to 2021 used force to protect someone, many other incidents were not imminently dangerous and often involved people experiencing a health emergency. Cases like these often became volatile after officers misinterpreted someone’s hesitation or inability to follow orders as defiance. The increase in physical strength then exacerbated the medical condition.

In one death reported in the AP, doctors and police in Tennessee treated the body movements of a 23-year-old man suffering from a seizure as resistance. Austin Hunter Turner’s mother is suing police and other responders after learning from body camera video, the AP revealed, that her son was subjected to more force than she realized.

People in these “behavioral medical emergencies” appear to be at greater risk of dying when detained by police, the research forum wrote. He urged departments to improve training so officers can better recognize and respond to these situations.

Repeatedly yelling at someone in a medical crisis to “calm down” or “relax,” for example, often makes the situation worse, the report said. Police should coordinate with firefighters, dispatchers and medics ahead of time so everyone knows their role.

Avoiding force mistakes

The research forum reiterated and expanded longstanding safety warnings about physical restraints, saying in particular that officers should limit when and how long they hold someone face down in what’s known as the prone position.

Police have noticed since the 1990s that leaving someone in prone restraint can dangerously restrict the lungs and heart. The AP found that police often failed to turn the person over once they were handcuffed. In dozens of cases, officers shouted, “I can’t breathe.”

The research forum said police could save lives by throwing people on their side as soon as possible, even if they are struggling, and having at least one officer monitor their health. The group also cautioned police against buying into misconceptions about prone apprehension, including that if someone is talking, they can breathe adequately.

Request for sedation

The report addressed another finding from the AP investigation, recommending that officers never try to influence whether doctors give someone an injection to sedate them.

The AP found that at least 94 people died after being sedated and detained. In more than 15 of those cases, police requested or suggested that emergency medical workers inject sedatives, such as ketamine or midazolam, to temporarily immobilize someone for transport. Experts told the AP that requests from police may pressure doctors to use treatments that can be high-risk — especially if a person is held face down — but are not medically necessary.

“Take the hit to calm him down!” a California officer told a paramedic about the 2020 death of a 40-year-old man who was given midazolam while in custody.

Some departments, such as Minneapolis, have prohibited officers from requiring sedation, as has a Colorado state law. But many others offer little or no guidance to officers, some of whom embrace sedation when they see them acting quickly on combative individuals.

Doctors should make decisions independently of the police, “based on the totality of the circumstances”, the report said. He added that medics should feel comfortable stepping in when officers restrain people in dangerous ways.

“We’re not trying to interfere with the work they’re doing,” Eric Jaeger, an EMS educator and paramedic who helped draft the guidelines, said of the police. “We’re trying to do our job, which is to protect the patient’s health.”

Photo: Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, left, shakes hands with Michael Wilson on the three-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death in George Floyd Square, Thursday, May 25, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

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This story is part of the ongoing “Lethal Restraint” investigation conducted by the Associated Press in collaboration with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and FRONTLINE (PBS) programs. The investigation includes an interactive story, a database and the film Documenting Police Use Of Force.

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