(new: Pelosi, 2nd paragraph)
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – After weeks of protests following the death of African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation, the US president has Donald Trump limited police reforms decided. Trump signed an order in the White House on Tuesday that promised police departments funds from the Department of Justice. The authorities would have to commit to compliance with certain standards when using violence, said the president. Among other things, strangleholds on suspects according to these standards should only be used if the police officers concerned are in mortal danger.
Democrats in Congress immediately criticized Republican Trump’s actions. The House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said the “weak” disposition was far behind what was needed to “fight the racial injustice and police brutality epidemic”. Minority leader of the Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer, also complained that the “modest” disposition did not make up for Trump’s years of “inflammatory rhetoric”.
The Democrats in the House of Representatives have submitted a much more extensive draft law, which, among other things, should facilitate the prosecution of police officers in the event of violence. The White House had announced that such a step was out of the question. Republican Trump pledged to work with Congress for far-reaching reforms.
Trump said his disposition should encourage social workers to work with police officers. Police officers should also share information about officers who have been exposed to excessive force. This is to prevent the burdened police officers from moving from one authority to the next. One is also investigating whether police officers could be equipped with “less lethal weapons”.
Trump vigorously opposed calls to cut police funds. Americans believed that “the brave men and women” deserve support from the police. “Without the police there is chaos, without the law there is anarchy, without security there is a disaster,” he said. “We will have reforms without undermining our great and extremely talented police officers.” There are also “bad police officers”, but they are a small minority.
The president promised justice to the families of victims of police violence. “Your loved ones will not have died for nothing,” Trump said when he appeared in the rose garden of the White House after meeting with relatives. He stressed that police accountability needs to be improved. There should be more transparency. More should be invested in police training.
Protests against racism and police violence have shaken the United States for weeks. The trigger was the death of African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25. A white police officer had pressed his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes, although Floyd asked him to let him breathe.
The protests were fueled by the renewed fatality of two white police officers against a black man in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday evening. When Rayshard Brooks died in a police check, there were serious doubts about the proportionality of the violence used. The post-mortem revealed that the 27-year-old died of organ damage and blood loss from two gunshot wounds in the back, CNN reported, citing forensic medicine.
Trump has condemned George Floyd’s death on several occasions and emphasized the right to peaceful demonstrations. However, he is accused of not clearly positioning himself against racism and showing too little understanding of the anger about discrimination and injustice. He commented on the protests mainly from the security aspect.
“There will be no more looting or arson,” Trump said on Tuesday. “Violence and destruction will not be tolerated.” He added: “Americans want law and order, they demand law and order.” Some Americans “don’t even know that’s what they want” ./ cy / jbz / DP / he
