The Daily Caller reports that while speaking about violent gang-members in a speech to law enforcement officers that focused on MS-13, Trump said officers shouldn’t be “too nice” when putting violent criminals in the “paddy wagon”.
During a rally in Suffolk County, New York on Friday, (July 28) Trump told officers to “not be so nice” while delivering a speech about gang violence and illegal immigration. “You know? The way you put the hand over [the head], like ‘Don’t hit their head” and they’ve just killed somebody, ‘Don’t hit their head’. He described the precautions typically taken by police where they place a hand over a suspect’s head while they’re being put into a police auto to protect them.
‘As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up prisoners’.
‘The SCPD has strict rules & procedures relating to the handling of prisoners.
‘The @POTUS made remarks today that endorsed and condoned police brutality. “Police can not treat every community like an invading army, and encouraging violence by police is irresponsible and reprehensible”.
The department also posted a short message to Twitter.
The comment drew ire from several departments accusing Trump of normalizing police brutality.
“The president’s off the cuff comments on policing are sometimes taken all too literally by the media and professional police critics”, the union’s president, Chuck Canterburry, told BuzzFeed News. It is a shameful day for the presidency and police agencies across the country should condemn the president’s irresponsible and indefensible comments in the strongest possible terms. Don’t hit their head?
“The Boston Police Department’s priority has been and continues to be building relationships and trust with the community we serve”.
“Law enforcement officers are trained to treat all individuals, whether they are a complainant, suspect, or defendant, with dignity and respect”, read the IACP statement, which did not mention Mr. Trump.
Trump said that his administration would support the police like no one in the past.
This year’s killings included the Minneapolis police shooting of Justine Damond, an Australian woman who called 911 to report a possible rape in the alley near her home and ended up shot dead by the responding officers. In addition, the Suffolk County Police Department is already under federal oversight for discrimination and racial profiling of Latinos.