Listen to this article

US President Donald Trump has announced a federal ban on police officers applying chokeholds as part of a new process under which local police departments receive federal grant dollars, but said an officer could still use such a thing if they feel their life is in danger. Trump’s qualifier is the same that has allowed some police officers who have shot and killed black people to escape charges or prison time after arguing in court they felt their own lives were at risk. The recent announcement was part of the president announcing an executive order, called the modest policing reforms. President Trump and other senior administration officials said those reforms are designed to put more officers on the streets and make police departments closer to the people.

President also invited law enforcement officials onto the stage in the Rose Garden to stand behind him as he signed the executive order. He didn’t invite any family members of victims of police shootings to join him. Trump started about 25 minutes of remarks by giving his condolences to the family members of black people killed recently by white police officers. He made calls for national unity. But his prepared remarks quickly veered off into the homage to police departments. President said, “Americans know the truth. Without police there is chaos. Americans believe we must support the brave Americans in blue who keep us safe. These are not opposite goals, they are not mutually exclusive. They all work together”.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi issued a statement and said the order falls sadly and seriously short of what is needed to fight the epidemic of racial injustice and police brutality that the killing hundreds of Black Americans. She said, “Led by the Congressional Black Caucus, Democrats are advancing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act: bold, unprecedented reforms to curb police brutality, end racial profiling and end the court-created doctrine of qualified immunity for law enforcement to hold police accountable. This legislation will transform the culture of policing to address systemic racism by holding police accountable and increasing transparency”.