Report Takeaways

The Philadelphia Police Department should revise current use-of-force policies, which are fragmented, vague, and confusing for officers.

Academy training should be revised and enhanced. Training is not conducted in a systematic fashion and sometimes gives recruits inconsistent and contradictory instruction. Taser training should be given to recruits and de-escalation training should be expanded.

Training for veteran officers should be increased and include instruction on "unconscious bias" and defensive tactics. Officers should be periodically recertified in crisis intervention.

Police investigators should establish a policy to video- and audio-record interviews of all critical witnesses and suspects. Investigators now take hand-typed notes of officers who shoot their weapons.

The department should combine the two boards that review officer-involved shootings and include at least one community member.

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