Every day, police rely on common tactics that, unlike guns, are meant to stop people without killing them, such as physical holds, Tasers and body blows. But when misused, these tactics involving what police call “less-lethal force” can still end in death.

The federal government has struggled for years to count these types of deaths, and the little information it collects is often kept from the public and incomplete. This documentary is part of a multiplatform investigation from an AP-led team offering the most extensive accounting ever compiled of deaths following these kinds of encounters: 1,036 in the decade from 2012-21. Police say they are often responding to volatile and sometimes violent situations, and deaths are rare. Drawing on police records, autopsy reports, witness accounts and body camera footage, the film is a powerful and nuanced examination of what an AP reporter calls “hidden deaths.”

Role: Cinematographer