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
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 and reporters behind "Documenting Police Use of Force" spoke about how they built an extensive database and 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
One Day After Elijah McClain, Another Young Man Was Sedated While Restrained by Police
The day after Elijah McClain’s ultimately fatal encounter with law enforcement and paramedics, another young man — 24-year-old Taylor Ware — was forcibly sedated and later died. Ware’s story unfolds in an excerpt from ‘Documenting Police Use of Force.’
April 30, 2024
Dozens of Deaths Reveal Risks of Injecting Sedatives Into People Restrained by Police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
April 26, 2024
For Years She Thought Her Son Had Died of an Overdose. The Police Video Changed All That.
For six years, Karen Goodwin believed her son died of an overdose. But after she finally saw the police body-camera footage, her memories now conflict with stark images of restraint and force.
March 29, 2024
He Didn’t Trust Police but Sought Their Help Anyway. Two Days Later, He Was Dead.
Jameek Lowery, a 27-year-old Black man, was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
March 29, 2024
A Mom Called 911 To Get Her Son Mental Health Help. He Died After Police Responded With Force
When a 24-year-old former Marine experienced a manic episode at a southern Indiana rest stop, his mother called 911 for help getting him mental health treatment.
March 28, 2024
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Documenting Police Use of Force
FRONTLINE and The Associated Press investigate deaths that occurred after police used tactics like prone restraint and other “less-lethal force.”
April 30, 2024
Lethal Restraint
The Associated Press and FRONTLINE investigated police use of force across the United States.
March 28, 2024