After 2021 spike in shootings by officers, LAPD will audit its training on use of deadly force

The LAPD is reviewing how it trains officers on the use of deadly force after a spike in police shootings in 2021, including one in a Burlington store that was captured by an officer’s body camera. After a sharp increase in shootings by police in 2021 — including those of suspects who did not have guns — the Los Angeles Police Department will audit and revise how it trains officers in the use of deadly force, officials said Tuesday. Chief Michel Moore said at a meeting of the civilian Police Commission that the LAPD is conducting a “deep dive” into its training program to assess whether it properly outlines existing department policies, which have gotten stricter in recent years, and makes clear to officers “the reverence for human life” that is required of them. Decker asked if the review would consider whether training matches policy, whether “stronger words or maybe different language” is needed to stress that lethal force “should be a last resort” and whether the department’s training adequately teaches officers all of the considerations they must make before opening fire in “crowded, densely populated” places. Moore said the review will consider whether current training adequately addresses the existing requirements that officers use de-escalation techniques; redeploy to buy themselves time and create more space between themselves and suspects; and utilize less-lethal weapons, such as foam rounds, whenever possible before opening fire, Moore said.