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The New York City Police Department outlined a new tactical training program on Monday as the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio continues its efforts to mend the fractured relationship between the nation鈥檚 largest police force and the city鈥檚 minority communities.

Speaking before the New York City Council Monday morning, police Commissioner William Bratton told lawmakers that for the first time in the city鈥檚 history, the NYPD would begin requiring its officers to undergo additional tactical training each year 鈥� 鈥渞efresher courses鈥� with a renewed focus on de-escalating encounters and treating citizens with respect, even during arrests.

鈥淭he verbal and physical tactics necessary to assess and control a situation are perishable skills,鈥� Mr. Bratton said. 鈥淲e cannot reasonably expect police officers to maintain those skills on the basis of the training they receive as academy recruits, without regular refreshers to keep them current and sharp.鈥�

The announcement of the department鈥檚 new annual 鈥渋n service鈥� training comes less than two months after Eric Garner, a 350-pound black man, died allegedly at the hands of New York police. Mr. Garner, who resisted arrest, was subdued in an apparent chokehold that has been banned by police policy since 1993.

The arrest was vividly captured by bystanders鈥� smart-phone videos and led to another summer of simmering tensions between the NYPD and the city鈥檚 black and Latino residents.

The tension in New York became more acute a few weeks after Garner鈥檚 death, too, following the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. That death roiled the nation and put a spotlight on police tactics in minority neighborhoods around the country.

But NYPD officials on Monday said their new training efforts 鈥� which will begin as a limited pilot program in November 鈥� would attempt to build 鈥渓egitimacy鈥� between police officers and the communities they protect.

One aim, Deputy Commissioner of Training Benjamin Tucker told city council members, is to 鈥済et our officers to understand that how they treat the public in their encounters on the street makes a huge difference in how and whether the public leaves that encounter ... [feeling] as though they鈥檝e been respected.鈥�

Citizens who encounter police, whether during a 鈥渟top and frisk,鈥� a 鈥渇or cause鈥� arrest, or even just the isuing of a summons, should feel that 鈥渢hey leave that encounter with their dignity,鈥� Mr. Tucker said.

A year ago, a federal judge found that the city鈥檚 aggressive use of stop-and-frisk, a permissible tactic under certain conditions, violated the US Constitution and illegally targeted minorities.

The controversy last summer helped propel Mr. de Blasio, a little-known middling candidate at the time but outspoken in his criticism of NYPD tactics, to a historic landslide win in the fall.

鈥淢yself, as a police professional for over 40 years and as a resident of the city for the last five years,鈥� Bratton told council members Monday, 鈥淚 shared the opinion of the mayor that the quantity of the enforcement activity 鈥� particularly as it related to 鈥榮top, question, and frisk鈥� 鈥� was inappropriate, even from observing it from the outside.鈥�

Bratton said that he began to assess NYPD training even before the fatal arrest of Garner. Prior to his appearance Monday, a small crowd gathered in front of City Hall to protest the Staten Island resident鈥檚 death in police custody. Last month, the Rev. Al Sharpton led a march of thousands of protesters at the site of Garner鈥檚 death, demanding that criminal charges be brought against the officers involved in the arrest.

Many community groups continued to condemn Bratton鈥檚 signature policing methods after his testimony Monday. Critics say his 鈥渂roken windows鈥� approach unfairly targets poor minority areas 鈥� for example, Garner鈥檚 fatal arrest for selling loose cigarettes.

鈥淣o matter how much officer training is enhanced, Broken Windows policing increases the odds of misconduct and wrongful arrests,鈥� said Emily Galvin, a criminal defense attorney with the Bronx Defenders, in a statement. 鈥� 鈥楤roken Windows' policing creates distrust in communities through the sheer volume of police encounters and the disparate targeting of communities of color.鈥�

But the new three-day in-service training, which will be held at the department鈥檚 new police academy facilities in Queens, will include 鈥渢wo core priorities,鈥� the commissioner said.

鈥淔irst, how to talk to an initially uncooperative person with the goal of avoiding a physical confrontation and second, how to physically restrain a suspect who continues to resist arrest without harm to that individual or the officer,鈥� Bratton said.

But despite saying that he felt NYPD training needed 鈥渟ignificant enhancement,鈥� the commissioner also said the department has been a 鈥渕odel of restraint鈥� among all the nation鈥檚 police forces.

New York cops have resorted to force for less than 2 percent of all arrests so far this year 鈥� the lowest rate since the department started keeping records. Officers used force during nearly 9 percent of arrests in 1992 and 4.6 percent in 2004. 鈥淲e鈥檙e making 98 out of 100 arrests without reportable use of force,鈥� Bratton said.

鈥淚ncluded in these arrests are more than 25,000 arrests including weapons, 5,000 of which involved firearms,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭hese numbers demonstrate the judgment and skill of the vast majority of our officers in dealing with frequently difficult arrest situations.鈥�

But annual tactical training seminars will help officers reduce tense encounters even more, Bratton said.

鈥淥ur goal is ambitious because it has to be,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ithin a few years, our expectation is that other police departments will be coming to us for guidance in best practices and we鈥檒l be the nation鈥檚 model for both recruit and in-service training.鈥�