In response to protests regarding police brutality around the United States, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that discusses reforming the police force. Continue reading below to learn more.
What Does the Executive Order Say?
The point of the executive order signed by President Trump is to suggest reform throughout police departments in the country. Stated in the order, federal incentives through the Justice Department would be created for local departments that seek “independent credentialing.” This would be done to certify that these departments are meeting higher standards for using force and training for de-escalation. If implemented, the standards would also ban using chokeholds unless “an officer’s life is at risk.”
The executive order would also incentivize local police departments throughout the country to use experts in fields relating to mental health, addiction, and homelessness. The purpose of this would be to use them as “co-responders” that assist officers who are handling “complex encounters.” The system would also encourage a more efficient way of sharing information to track police officers who have a record of abuse and prevent them from moving around to other departments. In addition to this, the order directs the Justice Department to create and use a database that would track officers who have been terminated or decertified, criminally convicted for on-duty conduct, or faced civil judgments for improper use of force. The executive order emphasizes that the database would only track incidents where an officer was afforded fair process.
What Else Should I Know?
Since the signing of the executive order, it is important to keep in mind that it did not address the issue of qualified immunity that shields police officers from liability in certain situations. In addition to this, decisions regarding law enforcement are generally made at state and local levels, not federally. It is because of this that Trump’s executive order does not mandate these rules to be followed. Instead, it only serves to incentivize local police departments to use these reforms.
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