Policing
For several decades, FRONTLINE has been chronicling policing in America and examining various aspects of police reform and accountability. Watch and explore documentaries, in-depth reporting and interactives.
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Related Stories
Accident or Homicide? Medical Rulings in Arrest-Related Deaths Can Dictate What Happens to Police
Police in the United States rarely face criminal charges when civilians die after the use of force such as physical blows, restraints or Tasers.
December 18, 2024
How Tucson Police Handled a Death Like George Floyd’s When Leaders Thought It Would Never Happen
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.
October 8, 2024
A Series of Deaths and the ‘Big Fight’: Uncovering Police Force in One Midwestern City
Police leaders called the training “routine” when one recruit died and another was badly injured at their academy.
October 8, 2024
Policing Group Says Officers Must Change How and When They Use Physical Force on U.S. 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.
September 24, 2024
Tennessee Family’s Lawsuit Says Video Long Kept From Them Shows Police Force, Not Drugs, Killed Son
A mother whose son was having a seizure in his Tennessee apartment said in a federal lawsuit that police and paramedics subjected the 23-year-old to “inhumane acts of violence” instead of treating him, then covered up their use of deadly force.
August 16, 2024
Families of Uvalde Shooting Victims Sue Texas DPS Officers for Waiting To Confront Gunman
In a separate settlement, the city of Uvalde will pay $2 million to the families, create a permanent memorial to the victims and provide enhanced training for police officers.
May 22, 2024
Risks of Handcuffing Someone Facedown Long Known; People Die When Police Training Fails To Keep Up
Police in the U.S. have been warned for decades that the common tactic of handcuffing someone facedown could turn deadly if officers pin them on the ground with too much pressure or for too long. What some officers are doing today conflicts with what has long been recognized as safe, a deadly disconnect that highlights ongoing failures in police training, an Associated Press investigation has found.
May 14, 2024
In Hundreds of Deadly Police Encounters, Officers Broke Multiple Safety Guidelines
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 multiple times, an Associated Press investigation found.
May 14, 2024
Inside the Investigation into Police Use of Force
A new investigation reveals that over nearly a decade, more than 1,000 people died following encounters where police employed tactics known as "less-lethal force."
May 9, 2024
‘Documenting Police Use of Force’ Filmmakers & Reporters on Navigating Obstacles in Their Reporting
The filmmakers of “Documenting Police Use of Force” spoke about how they created a visual narrative that traces why and how people die in the wake of police using what is known as “less-lethal force.”
April 30, 2024