Trump proposal avoids committing to major police reform as protesters call out brutality and racism
Large-scale protests against police brutality and systemic racism have engulfed the nation since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the custody of Minneapolis police. The demonstrations have led cities around the country to consider how to reform their departments, and some have committed to cutting police funding or even replacing their departments entirely.
Trump criticized calls by activists and certain Democratic officials to pull money from police departments, arguing the U.S. needs to “invest more energy and resources” in training and community engagement. The president appeared to downplay systemic issues with policing: He contended departments have “bad apples” but “not too many of them.”
Congressional Democrats have already introduced a sweeping police reform plan, but Trump opposes major provisions in it including rolling back “qualified immunity” protections for officers that make it harder for victims of abuses to get damages. The bill would create a federal registry of police violence, make it easier to prosecute officers who commit abuses and ban chokeholds and “no-knock” search warrants, among other provisions.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., has led discussions on a Senate Republican proposal. He met with Trump advisors earlier this week.
Before Trump spoke Thursday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy indicated the GOP could back pieces of the Democratic proposal, Politico reported. The California Republican said “there’s a lot of concepts that we agree upon” in changing police practices.
Prior to detailing proposals in Dallas, Trump pointed to the ways he said he has “been fighting for the forgotten men and women of America.” He noted that he signed criminal justice reform legislation and secured funding for historically black colleges and universities.
The president also noted that the U.S. had “the lowest black unemployment in the history” before the coronavirus pandemic hit. He said “we’ll get it back again soon.”
Unemployment trends show just one of the sustained examples of racial inequity in the U.S. In May, the unemployment rate for black Americans ticked slightly higher to 16.8%, while the rate for white people fell to 12.4%.
The record-low 5.5% unemployment rate among black people in September 2019 was higher than the 3.2% rate for whites.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/trump-executive-order-will-encourage-police-to-adopt-use-of-force-standards.html