Peter joined the Baltimore Police and describes how they were taught to "own the situation", which in effect means responding with escalating force until the situation is under control. This approach is evident in the reports from both the Washington Post and Al Jazeera journalists. From the book's description of the training, there appeared to be little effort to educate on correct responses for different situations.
I have friends in the UK Police force (I am not a cop myself) that tell me they are taught how to diffuse situations rather than escalate them and that getting into a violent confrontation is seen as a last resort, not a first response.
I have every sympathy with the police, and the tough job that they face, but I can't help but feel that the differences in approach and specifically the inflexibility of the US police training does not help them.