Four years into its reform, the Seattle Police Department has developed a new policy on use of force. The department also devised a new training procedure that focuses on teaching officers how to avoid using force if at all possible and as long as it’s safe, said Brian Maxey, the department’s chief operating officer.
“We are teaching officers to slow down, hang back and get behind something, take cover,” Maxey said. “It is very nuanced, and it all plays out in rapidly evolving situations. It is just a much more thoughtful approach.”
Maxey said such changes have not come without controversy. A group of police officers in Seattle filed a lawsuit over the department’s use of force policy, but a judge dismissed the complaint.
The Justice Department focused on Seattle police after several high-profile incidents, including the 2010 fatal shooting of a man who did not respond to orders to drop a knife. The nine-month investigation found a pattern of excessive force.
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