New order urges police reform
Critics say Trump is just ‘preserving status quo’
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that would provide police departments incentives to adopt new standards for the use of force after protests over the deaths of George Floyd and other African Americans at the hands of law enforcement officers.
The order also calls for the creation of a national database to allow departments to track potential hires with records of abuse and for mental health professionals to respond alongside officers to calls dealing with homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness.
But the executive order failed to address questions of systemic racism and sweeping policy changes that activists and some policing experts say are crucial to meaningful criminal justice reform.
Kendall Thomas, a Columbia University Law professor who focuses on race, policing and constitutional law, said Trump’s order signaled no commitment to any serious policy change and underscored how reform is still focused on police training rather than community safety.
“That executive order was not aimed at anything more than preserving the status quo,” he said. “This is not about embracing policies that would end punitive policing, it’s about incremental reforms that will make punitive policing more powerful.”
Trump’s event underscored the difficulty he often faces reconciling different viewpoints on a cultural issue that deeply divides the nation.
He was flanked by police officials in the Rose Garden but had met beforehand privately with the families of victims, who did not attend the signing.
He praised the families and promised justice but quickly shifted into pro-law enforcement talking points that are a trademark of his campaign rallies.
“To all of the hurting families, I want you to know that all Americans mourn by your side,” Trump said. “Your loved ones will not have died in vain.”
He called the families “incredible,” vowed to pursue justice for them and went on to describe police as “brave,” “selfless” and “courageous.”
“Americans know the truth: Without police there is chaos,” Trump said. “Without law, there is anarchy.”
The Trump administration will prioritize federal grants from the Department of Justice to “state and local law enforcement agencies that have sought or are in the process of seeking appropriate credentials” on use-offorce standards, according to the order.
But it does not mandate that all police departments adopt those standards.
The order also does not include a ban on chokeholds as many activists have demanded but says the police tactic should be used only if lives are in danger.
“Americans want law and order. They demand law and order,” Trump said. “We need to bring law enforcement and communities closer together, not to drive them apart.”