Police Brutality: NYPD Annual Training to Focus on Appropriate Force Following Chokehold Death
Following the recent death of Eric Garner, who died in a police chokehold, the New York City Police Department is undergoing additional training on proper use of force. NYPD Commissioner William Bratton announced that officers will be participating in a three-day retraining on physical confrontations and methods of avoiding them unless as a last resort.
"It was evident to me and Mayor [Bill] de Blasio...that there was a need for a fundamental shift in the culture of the department, from an overarching focus on police activity...to an emphasis on collaborative problem-solving with the community," Bratton said Monday before the city's Committee for Public Safety.
Besides the increased attention placed on limiting police forceful intervention, the session will also deal with tactics to safely take people into custody without harming them as well as a sensitivity and leadership workshop.
This pilot program will take place in November and then be provided to roughly 20,000 regularly on patrol police officers. The remaining 15,000 police personnel will later receive the training later when it is incorporated with their annual "in-service" training programming. Newly-hired police recruits will be also be trained in this information during their existing curriculum.
The city council also heard Bratton's case for financial support for this updated training, estimating that the new initiative will cost around $25 million for additional training staff, expansion of the Police Academy officers, and overtime costs to bring in police during these additional three days of training.
"We cannot arrest our way out of every crime problem," Bratton said. "Arrests will always be a critical part of what we do. However, there are other tools in our toolbox we can use when the situation calls for it."
Garner, whose death sparked this reevaluation, died nearly two months ago after NYPD officers contacted him about selling cigarettes illegally. The father of six was confronted by police during the encounter, and video evidence shows an officer pulling the 350-pound man to the sidewalk while in a chokehold.
The New York Medical Examiner's Office ruled Garner's death a homicide. A Staten Island jury will likely hear evidence in court later in September.
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