8. Police Training and Use Of Force in the Derek Chauvin Trial

The chief of the Minneapolis Police Department testified this week that the tactic used by Derek Chauvin to restrain George Floyd, pressing his knee into his neck, did not follow police policy.

“I absolutely agree that violates our policy,” testified Chief Medaria Arradondo at Chauvin’s trial.

In the second week of testimony in the Chauvin trial, the state called law enforcement experts to testify about policies, procedures, and how officers are trained.

In this episode of [Un]Common Law, we explore the issue of police training, and whether Chauvin’s use of force can be explained by either his training, or as a reaction to events on the ground.

Laura Scarry, an attorney with DeAno and Scarry, LLC who has represented police officers, joins us to talk about how she relies on police training practices to defend her clients. And Randy Shrewsberry, a former police officer and the executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform, tells us about his organization’s studies on use of force.