Law enforcement officers sign up to protect and serve their communities. Yet documented evidence shows that behind closed doors, some people have been subjected to severe physical abuse—including burning, choking, beatings, and drowning—by the very officers entrusted with their care. These acts are not only human rights violations, they undermine public trust, threaten the integrity of law enforcement agencies, and erode the legitimacy of the justice system itself. As reports of abuse and human rights violations continue to emerge from federal detention centers, prisons, and police agencies across the country, documenting police torture has never been more urgent.

We are the journalists who reported the Pulitzer-finalist series that exposed a group of sheriffs deputies who tortured residents of a Mississippi county for a generation. What we uncovered in Mississippi raised a simple but important question: how often do police and corrections officers commit such extreme abuses today?

As we collected dozens of similar allegations across the country, we found that torture has not only shaped America’s past—it persists today. Yet no comprehensive effort has examined its modern scale or established a shared factual record.

The Bell Project will investigate police torture in America by creating the first national archive of torture allegations involving law enforcement and corrections officers, a public resource that communities, journalists, policymakers, and law enforcement leaders can learn from.

In partnership with national and local media organizations, we will produce investigative reporting that elevates survivor voices, informs the public, and identifies the conditions that allow police torture to occur. Our reporting will be grounded in documentation, context, and fairness, with the goal of spurring new policy, training, and prevention efforts.

Beyond reporting, The Bell Project will expand the traditional model of investigative journalism by prioritizing collaboration over extraction. We will host town halls and listening sessions to facilitate dialogue with affected communities. We will develop training programs to help community members responsibly document allegations and preserve evidence. And as local newsrooms continue to shrink, we will train local reporters to use our archive and investigative methods, strengthening local capacity to uncover and address abuse.

Torture by law enforcement is not only a moral failure—it is a practical and institutional one, carrying lasting consequences for victims, agencies, and the rule of law. The Bell Project will build the public understanding and collective resolve needed to confront this problem, and ultimately prevent it.