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June 17, 2020

Trump's Executive Order on Policing Decried as "Toothless" and "Anemic"
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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on policing
following more than three weeks of nationwide protests over the police
killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The order calls for the creation
of a national police misconduct database and to give federal grants to
departments to improve training. Trump resisted growing calls to back an
outright ban on the use of police chokeholds. Instead, the order calls
on officers to only use them if they feel his or her life is endangered.
During an address at the White House surrounded by police officers,
Trump made no mention of systemic racism and sought to downplay the
crisis.

President Donald Trump: "Nobody is more opposed to the small number of
bad police officers. And you have them. They are very tiny. I use the
word 'tiny.' It's a very small percentage. But you have them."

Civil rights leaders and legal advocates widely criticized Trump's
executive order. The Rev. Al Sharpton called it "toothless and
meaningless." Kristen Clarke of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law described it as "anemic."

Kristen Clarke: "This order was incredibly anemic, in that it does not
deal with racial profiling. It does not impose a ban on chokeholds and
neck holds. It does not end qualified immunity for officers. It does not
strengthen the tools that we need to hold officers accountable and to
make it possible to prosecute officers who use deadly or excessive force
without basis."

Protests against police brutality and racism are continuing across the
country.


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