Investigation Reveals More than 1,000 Unnecessary Deaths from Police Use of Non-Lethal Tactics

More than 1,000 people have died in the past decade after encounters with law enforcement, despite officers using non-lethal tactics, according to a recent investigation by The Associated Press, the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, and PBS’ Frontline. The findings again show systemic issues within policing and raise questions about accountability and reform.Each victim was unarmed and posed no immediate threat. Yet, they met tragic ends after police resorted to methods such as physical holds, Tasers, and body blows, which are typically meant& to subdue individuals without causing harm. The investigation underscored the potential lethality of these tactics when misused, echoing the outcry sparked by the death of George Floyd in 2020.In one of many examples, investigators highlighted an incident in South Boston, Virginia, where one of three officers who shocked a man rolling on a hospital sidewalk said a suspect’s actions—not Taser guidelines—dictate what to do. They noted that officers fired their Tasers a combined 20 times, even after handcuffing the man. “There are eight pages of warnings, and basically, if I read and abided by every single warning, I would not tase anyone,” the officer said in response to a civil lawsuit later settled out of court. Federal...