BURIEN, Wash. — Seattle officers captured on video punching a protester and pressing a knee into another's neck appear to violate policies on using force against suspects.
The run-ins came just days after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police set off nationwide protests.
With calls growing for police reforms across the U.S., instructors and researchers say officers lack sufficient training on how and when to use force.
That leaves them unprepared to handle tense situations.
Better training can’t fix all the issues facing the nation’s police departments, but experts believe it would have a big impact.
An instructor at Washington state’s police academy says officers' “skills start to degrade immediately."
