Trump plans order on policing, opposes major reforms
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[June 12, 2020]
By Steve Holland
DALLAS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump
on Thursday announced modest plans for an executive order on policing,
while making it clear he would not support sweeping proposals in
response to protests against police brutality prompted by the killing of
George Floyd.
Speaking at a campaign-style event at a church in Dallas, Trump said the
order would advise police departments to adopt national standards for
the use of force.
His administration would also support better training for police and
pilot programs for social workers to work alongside law enforcement
officers, he said.
But he derided the "defund the police" movement that advocates reducing
budgets for police departments and funneling that money to programs for
education, social welfare, housing and other community needs.
Trump repeatedly stated his support for police and said progress would
not be made by labeling millions of Americans as racist.
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"In recent days, there has been vigorous discussion about how to ensure
fairness, equality and justice for all of our people," Trump said.
"Unfortunately, there's some trying to stoke division and to push an
extreme agenda - which we won't go for - that will produce only more
poverty, more crime, more suffering. This includes radical efforts to
defund, dismantle and disband the police," he added.
Trump's comments were his first offering policy proposals on policing
and race following the May 25 death of Floyd, an African-American man,
after a Minneapolis policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
His death prompted a wave of protests in U.S. cities and abroad,
re-energizing the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement.
Trump has drawn fire for calling on state governors to crack down on the
protesters and threatening to send in the U.S. military.
He said on Thursday that police should be able to use force but that it
should be "force with compassion."
Police officers still need to "dominate the streets," he added, in
reference to the recent protests, some of which included violent
incidents.
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![](../images/061220pics/news_s35.jpg)
President Donald Trump is greeted as he arrives for a roundtable
discussion with members of the faith community, law enforcement and
small business at Gateway Church Dallas Campus in Dallas, Texas,
U.S., June 11, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Trump sought to move the focus beyond policing by saying his
administration wanted to foster economic development in minority
communities, address healthcare disparities by race and provide more
school choice.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
The administration's policing proposals so far fall well short of
those embraced by Democrats in Congress who are moving forward with
reform legislation that could come to a vote by July 4 in the House
of Representatives.
Republicans, who control the Senate, are working on a separate
proposal, although its unveiling has been delayed.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows met Republican lawmakers on
Capitol Hill earlier this week and said Trump wanted to overhaul
policing laws sooner rather than later. He did not identify any
specific policy proposals but said Trump was willing to work with
lawmakers on the issue.
Some Republicans in Congress have indicated support for certain
measures proposed by Democrats, including a ban on the use of
chokeholds and eliminating the legal defense of "qualified
immunity," which helps officers evade civil rights lawsuits.
But it is unclear whether Democrats and Republicans will be able to
overcome partisan differences to pass legislation that Trump would
be willing to sign.
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(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Daphen
Psaledakis; Writing by Mohammad Zargham and Lawrence Hurley; Editing
by Chris Reese and Peter Cooney)
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