¶ Police Violence
Highlights:
- Donald Trump eliminated consent decrees, which were used to reform police forces accused of civil rights abuses.
- The Trump administration eliminated consent decrees which reformed abusive police practices.
- Consent decrees were used in Ferguson and Baltimore after police-caused deaths.
- Sessions imposed requirements for consent decrees that included approval from top officials, additional violations beyond unconstitutional behavior, and sunset dates on the deals.
- Trump’s Justice Department opted for a hands-off approach to police reform.
- Trump said he wanted less oversight of local law enforcement in a second term.
- The Trump administration eliminated consent decrees which reformed abusive police practices.
- Donald Trump re-established the militarization of police after Obama-era reforms.
- Trump’s administration worked to militarize the police by allowing surplus military equipment to be sent to local police forces.
- Donald Trump called to allow police to rough up “thugs.”
- Trump said police should be entitled to an hour of “rough” violence against suspected criminals.
- Donald Trump called for law enforcement to use violence against immigrants.
- Trump encouraged gun violence against immigrants by ICE agents he called “rough guys.”
- Donald Trump encouraged violence from police against protestors at his rallies.
- Trump appeared to encourage violence from the police and attendees against a protestor at his rally.
- Trump said a Black Lives Matter protestor should have been “roughed up.”
- In 2015, Trump said the Black Lives Matter movement was “looking for trouble.”
- In 1989, Donald Trump spearheaded a racist public media campaign against five Black and Latino youth falsely accused and subsequently exonerated.
- After the Central Park Five were exonerated, Trump continued to cast doubt on their innocence using racist undertones.
¶ Trump Eliminated Consent Decrees That Were Used To Reform Police Forces Accused Of Civil Rights Abuses
¶ The Trump Administration Eliminated Consent Decrees That Reformed Abusive Police Practices
Attorney General Sessions Curtailed The Use Of “Consent Decrees,” Which Were Agreements Between The Justice Department And Local Police Forces To Change Abusive Practices. According to the New York Times, “In a major last-minute act, Mr. Sessions signed a memorandum on Wednesday before President Trump fired him sharply curtailing the use of so-called consent decrees, court-approved deals between the Justice Department and local governments that create a road map of changes for law enforcement and other institutions.” [New York Times, 11/8/18]
¶ Consent Decrees Were Used In Ferguson And Baltimore After Police-Caused Deaths
Consent Decrees Had Been Used In Ferguson And Baltimore After Deaths Caused By Police. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Sessions had signaled he would pull back on their use soon after he took office when he ordered a review of the existing agreements, including with police departments in Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Mo., enacted amid a national outcry over the deaths of black men at the hands of officers.” [New York Times, 11/8/18]
¶ Sessions Imposed Requirements For Consent Decree Deals That Included Approval From Top Officials, Additional Violations Beyond Unconstitutional Behavior, and Sunset Dates On The Deals
Sessions’ Rules Required Top Political Appointees To Sign Off On The Consent Decrees. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Sessions imposed three stringent requirements for the agreements. Top political appointees must sign off on the deals, rather than the career lawyers who have done so in the past; department lawyers must lay out evidence of additional violations beyond unconstitutional behavior; and the deals must have a sunset date, rather than being in place until police or other law enforcement agencies have shown improvement.” [New York Times, 11/8/18]
Session’s Rules Required Department Lawyers To Lay Out Evidence Of Additional Violations Beyond Unconstitutional Behavior. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Sessions imposed three stringent requirements for the agreements. Top political appointees must sign off on the deals, rather than the career lawyers who have done so in the past; department lawyers must lay out evidence of additional violations beyond unconstitutional behavior; and the deals must have a sunset date, rather than being in place until police or other law enforcement agencies have shown improvement.” [New York Times, 11/8/18]
Sessions’ Rules Allowed Consent Decree Deals To End Before Police Or Agencies Showed Improvement. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Sessions imposed three stringent requirements for the agreements. Top political appointees must sign off on the deals, rather than the career lawyers who have done so in the past; department lawyers must lay out evidence of additional violations beyond unconstitutional behavior; and the deals must have a sunset date, rather than being in place until police or other law enforcement agencies have shown improvement.” [New York Times, 11/8/18]
¶ Trump’s Justice Department Opted For A Hands-Off Approach To Police Reform
VIDEO: CBS: Trump Justice Department Appeared To Be Taking A Hands-Off Approach To Police Reform, A Major Shift Compared To Actions Under The Obama Administration. According to CBS News via YouTube, “QUIJANO: The Trump Justice Department appears to be taking a hands-off approach to police reform, a major shift compared to actions under the Obama administration. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a sweeping review of reform agreements with troubled police forces nationwide. In a memo sent to U.S. attorneys. Sessions said, ‘It is not the responsibility of the federal government to manage non-federal law enforcement agencies.’” [CBS News via YouTube, 4/4/17]
VIDEO: Marc Morial On The DOJ Taking A Hands-Off Approach: “The Justice Department’s Obligation Is To Ensure The Fair And Impartial Administration Of Justice.” According to CBS News via YouTube, “MARC MORIAL: The Justice Department’s obligation is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice. And I think to pursue police reform through consent decrees is part of the Justice Department’s obligation to the people of this nation. REPORTER: So, what happens the next time we have one of these incidents. And tragically, it is very likely that there will be another instance in which we have excessive use of force. If the Department of Justice says, ‘look we’re going to let the local officials handle it,’ where does that leave civil rights groups? What is your role now in police reform? MORIAL: I mean our role is to hold the Department of Justice accountable. The federal courts are an option in some instances. The local courts may be an option in some instances. But I really think the message is there for citizens across the nation to demand these reforms.” [CBS News via YouTube, 4/4/17]
¶ Trump Said He Wanted Less Oversight Of Local Law Enforcement In A Second Term
Trump Indicated He Wanted To Curb Federal Monitoring Of Local Police And To Withhold Funds From Departments Unwilling To Employ More Confrontational Tactics In A Second Term. According to the Washington Post, “Donald Trump is vowing to end the Biden administration’s wide-reaching efforts to curb abusive policing, promising if he returns to the White House to rein in federal oversight of local law enforcement and empower officers to aggressively ‘clean up’ American cities. Among the changes Trump has promoted: allowing the use of stop-and-frisk to interrogate suspects, rescinding a Biden administration ban on the transfer of military equipment to local police departments, deputizing local officers to enforce immigration laws, and deploying the National Guard to fight crime. ‘The Democrat party has a war on with police,’ Trump said at a campaign rally last month in Charlotte. ‘We will give our police back their power, protection, respect that they deserve.’ On the campaign trail and in meetings with supporters, Trump has signaled his intent to curb federal monitoring of local police and to withhold funds from departments unwilling to employ more confrontational tactics, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.” [Washington Post, 8/27/24]
¶ Trump Re-Established Militarization Of Police After Obama-Era Reforms
¶ Trump’s Administration Worked To Militarize The POLICE
Trump Re-Established A Program To Transfer Surplus Military Equipment To Local Police Forces. According to Reuters, “U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday issued an executive order revoking limits imposed by predecessor Barack Obama on the transfer of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, the White House said. Obama had curtailed the equipment transfer program after law enforcement officers using military-style armored vehicles and guns confronted protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 following the fatal police shooting of a black teenager. Trump’s executive order said, ‘All executive departments and agencies are directed, as of the date of this order and consistent with Federal law, to cease implementing those recommendations and, if necessary, to take prompt action to rescind any rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies implementing them.’” [Reuters, 8/28/17]
VIDEO: Sessions On Announcement Of A Trump Executive Order Allowing Police Departments To Buy Military Surplus: “These Restrictions Had Been Imposed Went Too Far.” According to a Jeff Sessions Presentation via YouTube, “SESSIONS: President Trump this day is issuing an executive order that will make it easier to protect yourselves and your communities. And it's a top priority of Chuck and your leaders. He is rescinding restrictions from the prior administration that limited your agency's ability to get equipment through federal programs, including lifesaving gear. Lifesaving gear that makes your lives safer, like Kevlar vest and helmets, first responder and rescue equipment like they're using in Texas right now. [...] Studies have shown that this equipment reduces crime rates, reduces the number of assaults against police officers, and actually reduces the number of complaints against police officers. These restrictions had been imposed went too far. We will not put superficial concerns above public safety. We will do our best to get you what you need. The executive order that the president will sign today will ensure that you can get lifesaving gear you need to do your job and send a strong message that we will not allow criminal activity, violence, and lawlessness to become a new normal. And we will save taxpayer money in the process. There's not a dollar to waste. And we're not going to waste a dollar. We're not gonna allow equipment, no longer needed to be sitting idle when you could be using it.” [Jeff Sessions Presentation via YouTube, 8/28/17]
¶ Local News Stations Highlighted The Ability Of Local Police To Buy Grenade Launchers, Bayonets, And Armored Vehicles
VIDEO: TN News Coverage Of Trump’s Executive Order On Military Surplus: “Now Local Law Enforcement Will Be Able To Purchase Grenade Launchers, Bayonets, And Armored Vehicles.” According to News Channel 5 Investigates via YouTube, “REPORTER: More on the President's plan to reverse that executive order signed by President Obama. Now local law enforcement will be able to purchase grenade launchers, bayonets, and armored vehicles. [...] REPORTER: Questions about the military surplus program increased after protests in Ferguson Missouri revealed the massive firepower at the disposal of local police in 2014….. In May of 2015, President Obama signed an executive order banning local police departments from obtaining things like bayonets armored vehicles and grenade launchers. In fact, five Tennessee departments actually had to return grenade launchers they had ordered through the program. SESSION**
* These restrictions had been imposed went too far. We will not put superficial concerns above public safety. REPORTER: But in a reversal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the National Fraternal Order of Police conference that President Trump was officially ending restrictions preventing local law enforcement from getting grenade launchers and other military surplus equipment. SESSION: We will not allow criminal activity violence and lawlessness to become a new norm. REPORTER: And while the announcement was greeted with strong approval from the local law enforcement in attendance it likely revives questions about the firepower available to local departments. RADLEY BALKO: When you surround yourself with the equipment of war with the language of war with the tactic of war you're going to be much less likely to look for ways of resolving disputes using the least amount of force possible. [News Channel 5 Investigates via YouTube, 8/28/17]
¶ Trump Called To Allow Police To Rough Up “Thugs”
¶ Trump Encouraged Police Officers To Be Rough With “Thugs” They Placed Under Arrest
July 2017: Trump Encouraged Officers To Be Rougher With Individuals They Placed User Arrest. According to the Washington Post, “‘When you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over?’ Trump said, miming the physical motion of an officer shielding a suspect’s head to keep it from bumping against the squad car. ‘Like, don’t hit their head, and they just killed somebody — don’t hit their head,’ Trump continued. ‘I said, you can take the hand away, okay?’” [Washington Post, 7/28/17]
Trump Told Police Officers “Don’t Be Too Nice” When Arresting People. According to Axios, “During a speech to law enforcement officers in Long Island, New York, Trump seemingly encouraged police officers to be rough with people they were arresting, per ABC News. ‘Please don't be too nice,’ he told the audience.” [Axios, 5/2/22]
In His Tweet Stating “When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts” Trump Referred To Persons Protesting The Death Of George Floyd As “Thugs.” According to Trump’s Twitter, “....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” [Twitter, @RealDonald Trump, 5/29/20]
¶ Trump Called To Allow Police To Have One Hour Of Rough Violence
Trump Announced A Plan To Allow Police To Get “Real Rough” For “One Rough Hour” To Deter The Crime He Falsely Claimed Has Gone “Through The Roof.” According to the Daily Beast, “Donald Trump on Sunday called for ‘one really violent day’ to address crime in America. Speaking at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, the former president falsely claimed that crime has gone ‘through the roof’ and that the phenomenon was ‘largely because of migrant crime.’ He then proposed a solution which sounded disturbingly similar to The Purge—the dystopian 2013 movie in which violence is legalized for a brief window as a means of addressing crime—in which law enforcement would be temporarily permitted to get ‘real rough. […] In explaining his thinking, Trump claimed that thieves feel safe committing crimes because law enforcement is being unduly restrained. […] ‘All these stores go out of business, right? They don’t pay rent, the city doesn’t have—it’s a chain of events. It’s so bad,” Trump added. ‘One rough hour—and I mean real rough—the word will get out, and it will end immediately. End immediately.’” [Daily Beast, 9/30/24]
¶ Trump Called For Law Enforcement To Use Violence Against Immigrants
¶ Trump Encouraged Gun Violence Against Immigrants By ICE Agents He Called “Rough Guys”
Trump Suggested Shooting Immigrants In The Legs To Slow Them Down. According to the New York Times “Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him.” [New York Times, 10/1/19]
Trump Referred To ICE Agents As “Rough Guys.” According to the Washington Post “Standing in front of a number of police officers in uniform, Trump described a conversation with Thomas Homan, then head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ‘I said, ‘Hey, Tom, let me ask you a question — how tough are these guys, MS-13?’’ Trump said, referring to a gang. ‘He said, ‘They’re nothing compared to my guys. Nothing.’ And that’s what you need. Sometimes that’s what you need, right?’ ‘I saw some photos where Tom’s guys — rough guys. They’re rough,’ Trump added later. ‘I don’t want to be — say it because they’ll say that’s not politically correct. You’re not allowed to have rough people doing this kind of work.’” [Washington Post, 6/1/20]
¶ Trump Encouraged Violence Against Protesters At His Rallies
¶ Trump Appeared To Encourage Violence From The Police And Attendees Against A Protestor At His Rally
Trump: “In The Good Old Days, They’d Rip Him Out Of That Seat So Fast.” According to the New York Times, “The crowd at Donald J. Trump’s rally here Friday night quickly began booing the young protester clad in the ‘KKK supports Trump’ T-shirt, who was escorted from the event. But for Mr. Trump, the ejection wasn’t quick enough. As his fans shouted down the interrupter, Mr. Trump turned his focus onto law enforcement. ‘You see, in the good old days, law enforcement acted a lot quicker than this,’ Mr. Trump said, as security officers made their way toward the protester. ‘A lot quicker. In the good old days, they’d rip him out of that seat so fast.’ ‘But today,’ he continued, ‘everyone is so politically correct. Our country is going to hell — we’re being politically correct.’” [New York Times, 2/27/16]
Trump Complained That A Protester Had Been “Gently” Removed From A Rally By Security. According to the New York Times, “Referring to another episode from an earlier event, Mr. Trump described someone ‘punching, swinging’ and complained that the protester had simply been ‘gently’ marched out.” [New York Times, 2/27/16]
Trump Encouraged His Supporters To “Knock The Crap” Out Of Protesters. According to Business Insider, “The Republican presidential front-runner suggested that violence would be acceptable against any such protesters. ‘So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously,’ he said. ‘OK, just knock the hell. I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise. They won't be so much because the courts agree with us, too.’” [Business Insider, 1/1/16]
¶ Trump Said A Black Lives Matter Protester should have been “Roughed UP”
Trump Said Of Black Lives Matter Protester At His Rally “Maybe He Should Have Been Roughed Up.” According to CNN, “‘Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing,’ Trump said Sunday morning on Fox News, less than 24 hours after his campaign said it ‘does not condone’ the physical altercation. Trump was not asked by the Fox News hosts about the comments made by his campaign. The protester, 31-year-old Black Lives Matter activist Mercutio Southall, said the attendees who attacked him also called him and two fellow protestors ‘monkeys’ and the N-word.” [CNN, 2/23/16]
¶ 2015: Trump Said The Black Lives Matter Movement Was “Looking For Trouble”
2015: Trump Said The Black Lives Matter Movement Was “Looking For Trouble.” According to MSNBC, “Although Trump is far from the first Republican presidential candidate to condemn the Black Lives Matter movement, he went further than most, alleging that ‘they’re trouble, I think they’re looking for trouble.’” [MSNBC, 9/8/15]
¶ 1989: Trump Spearheaded A Racist Public Media Campaign Against Five Black And Latino Youth Falsely Accused Of Crimes And Subsequently Exonerated
April 1989: Trump Bought Full-Page Advertisements To Proclaim “Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!” According to Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, “In April 1989, Trump saw another opportunity to speak his mind when a young woman who was white and an investment banker was raped and beaten until she became unconscious while out for a jog in Central Park. As media reports shocked the city and the victim struggled for survival, police mounted an intense investigation that ended with the apprehension of five black youths between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who were then interrogated for many hours. The five implicated themselves, but would later recant, saying they had been pressured into making false statements. Editorial writers at the tabloid Post urged readers to ‘channel your outrage’ by demanding lawmakers reinstate the death penalty. Donald Trump bought full-page advertisements in the city’s four big daily papers to proclaim, BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” [Michael D’Antonio: Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, September 2015]
- Trump Wrote In Full Page Newspaper Advertisement: “I Want To Hate These Muggers And Murderers. They Should Be Forced To Suffer And, When They Kill, They Should Be Executed For Their Crimes.” According to the New York Times, “Nonetheless, the brutalization of the victim demonized the suspects and seemed to make any presumption of innocence impossible. Donald J. Trump bought full-page newspaper advertisements demanding the death penalty and rejecting assertions (from Cardinal John J. O’Connor, among others) that society shared the blame for conditions that breed crime. ‘I want to hate these muggers and murderers,’ Mr. Trump wrote. ‘They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes.’ (What if the jogger had died and the five young men had been executed, Mr. Trump was asked the other day. ‘If they were convicted and weren’t guilty the government would’ve made a tragic mistake,’ he said.)” [New York Times, 10/20/02]
- 1989: Trump Called The Central Park Five A “Roving Bands Of Wild Criminals.” According to the New York Times, “In 1989, Mr. Trump paused in building his real estate empire to run the 600-word ad in The New York Times, The Daily News, The New York Post and New York Newsday, at a total cost of $85,000, under the boldfaced heading, ‘Bring Back the Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!’ In the ad, Mr. Trump said Mayor Edward I. Koch had stated ‘that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts,’ to which Mr. Trump replied: ‘I do not think so. I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes.’ At the time, the attack victim was still in a coma. The ad does not name any defendant, instead referring collectively to ‘roving bands of wild criminals.’” [New York Times, 10/23/02]
¶ After The Central Park Five Were Exonerated, Trump Continued To Cast Doubt On Their Innocence And Their Pasts Using Racist Undertones
Trump On The Central Park Five After They Were Exonerated, Given Settlement By The City Of New York: “These Young Men Do Not Exactly Have The Pasts Of Angels.” According to Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, “The Central Park Five were the teenagers who had been arrested and charged with the notorious assault and rape of a young woman in Central Park in 1989 […] Freed when DNA evidence proved someone else committed the crime, the men sued, and in 2014 the City of New York paid them a total of $ 40 million, or $ 1 million each per year of imprisonment, as a settlement. This event prompted much public soul-searching about the rush to judgment in the case, but Trump called the settlement ‘a disgrace’ and complained, ‘These young men do not exactly have the pasts of angels.’ When we spoke, at the time of the settlement, Trump said, ‘I spoke to a detective who is sure that they attacked her.’” [Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, 1/1/2015]
Trump On The Central Park Five After DNA Evidence Exonerated Them: “Tell Me, What Were They Doing In The Park, Playing Checkers?” According to Donald Trump: A Biography Of The Mogul Turned Presidential Candidate, “These brow-raising sentiments have been expressed in more subtle ways as well. In the infamous ‘Central Park Five’ case in which five teenagers, in 1989, were falsely accused of raping a white woman in Central Park, Trump reserved a full-spread advertisement in major New York newspapers demanding that the governor reinstate the death penalty. ‘Tell me, what were they doing in the Park, playing checkers?’ he asked after DNA evidence had revealed that they had not been the perpetrators.” [Donald Trump: A Biography Of The Mogul Turned Presidential Candidate, 2015]