Key findings from AP’s investigation into police force that isn’t supposed to be lethal

Every day, police in the U.S. rely on common use-of-force tactics that, unlike guns, are meant to stop people without killing them. But when misused, these tactics can still end in death.

Over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them through physical holds, stun guns, body blows and other means not intended to be lethal, an investigation led by media found. In hundreds of cases, officers weren’t taught or didn’t follow best safety practices for this force, creating a recipe for death.

Medical officials cited law enforcement as causing or contributing to about half of the deaths. In many others, significant police force went unmentioned and drugs or preexisting health problems were blamed instead.

These cases included George Floyd, whose 2020 death under the body weight of an officer sparked a national reckoning over policing. And while Floyd’s encounter happened to be caught on video, capturing his last words of “I can’t breathe,” many others throughout the United States have escaped notice.