Washington, D.C. – Moments after he met with families who have lost loved ones to violence—many involving deadly interactions with the police—President Donald Trump took historic action Wednesday, June 16th, 2020 to deliver safety and security for Americans of every race and background.
“We are one nation—we grieve together, and we heal together,” he said.
The executive order pursues common-sense reforms to public safety while rejecting fringe, anti-police demands. “I strongly oppose the radical and dangerous effort to defund, dismantle, and dissolve our police departments–especially now when we’ve achieved the lowest recorded crime rates in recent history,” the President said.
President Donald Trump: Restoring, renewing, and rebuilding our communities
“Many of the same politicians now presenting themselves as the solution are the same ones who have failed for decades on schools, jobs, justice, and crime. They’re all often, unfortunately, the same politicians running the cities and states where help is most needed.”
Americans both support the brave men and women in blue and believe we must improve accountability, increase transparency, and invest more in law enforcement training. President Trump’s actions recognize and build on these goals:
- Certification: The Justice Department will now allocate certain funding only to law enforcement agencies that meet high standards for use-of-force and de-escalation, as credentialed by reputable independent bodies. As part of this new credentialing, chokeholds will be banned except if an officer’s life is at risk.
- Information sharing: The Attorney General will create a database for federal, state, and local law enforcement to track terminations, criminal convictions, and civil judgments against law enforcement officers for excessive use-of-force.
- Mental health: To protect both officers and our most vulnerable populations, the Administration will prioritize training for police and social workers who respond to incidents involving the mentally ill, addicted, and homeless.
- Legislative action: The Administration will develop and propose new legislation to Congress to build on these policies and boost community engagement.
Reducing crime and raising police standards are not opposing goals, President Trump said. This executive order protects decent, law-abiding officers while holding those who abuse their badge accountable for their actions.
President Trump: We will reduce crime AND raise standards!
Safer communities mean safer work for our law enforcement officers, too. Last year alone, 89 officers were killed in the line of duty. In recent days, two members of law enforcement were killed amid riots and looting. Hundreds more were injured.
“The vast majority of police officers are selfless and courageous public servants,” President Trump said. “When others run away from danger, police run straight into harm’s way, often putting their lives at stake to protect someone who they don’t know or never even met.”
Violent crime in America is falling under President Donald Trump, and we have brave law enforcement officers to thank for it. In 2018, police arrested nearly 12,000 people for murder and manslaughter, about 25,000 for rape, and nearly 1.5 million for assault.
In many cases, local law enforcement is underfunded, understaffed, and under-supported. The last thing our country needs to do is to make the jobs of good, decent police officers more difficult. The far-left’s radical agenda proposes doing just that.
President Trump’s executive order today brings law enforcement and their communities closer together. Calls to defund policing will only drive them further apart.
See President Trump’s executive order on safe policing
Watch: President Trump’s full remarks from the Rose Garden
