President Trump’s law and order stance isn’t backed up by actions to help police
President Donald Trump routinely promotes himself as the “law and order president” and regularly poses shaking the hands of law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, Trump’s image is not backed up by his actions or words — and here are just some examples of that disconnect:
▪ Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has routinely criticized the FBI and its agents, even though the FBI works closely with police departments and officers all across the country on various task forces.
▪ While speaking to a law enforcement group in July 2017, Trump told officers to “please don’t be too nice” to suspects. This flies in the face of every officer’s professional obligation to protect all community members, including the ones they arrest.
▪ In August 2017 — while discussing the demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va., involving white supremacist protesters and those who had gathered in a counter protest — Trump said that “there were very fine people on both sides.”
I was part of a team that completed an after-action report on Charlottesville, and I found the actions of the white supremacists who took part to be reprehensible and a major cause of the violence. In addition, both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have identified white supremacists as a significant threat in the U.S.
▪ In March 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump invited Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, to visit the United States.
En route to Washington, D.C., Bolsonaro stopped with his entourage in Miami; while there one of Bolsonaro’s staff members tested positive for the virus, resulting in 21 Miami police officers being put in quarantine.
▪ In June 2020 Trump held a campaign rally in Tulsa that resulted in several Secret Service personnel being quarantined after becoming exposed to COVID-19.
If Trump was truly supportive of law enforcement, he would not make comments that undermine public trust in the rule of law.
He would not call on officers to abandon professionalism.
He would not engage in behavior that tolerates white supremacy.
He would not expose officers to COVID-19.
Real action needed
Supporting law enforcement means more than trying to look tough; it requires true strength and the courage to compassionately acknowledge problems while working with communities to solve them.
But Trump’s Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities failed to articulate the changes we need in modern law enforcement. For example:
▪ Trump would like to see agencies accredited or credentialed so that policy and training exhibit best practices. Well, the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies was formed in 1979 — and I lead three departments to meet those standards.
▪ Trump’s order describes the development of a database to track officers who have been fired or decertified – but only for on-duty conduct and only for “improper use of force.”
Officers have lives outside of the job, and incidents involving domestic violence, assaultive behavior, etc., can all lead to termination — yet these incidents would not be tracked.
For too many years police leaders have asked to be relieved from many of the duties that have been thrust upon them that have little to do with preventing and responding to crime.
This is where law enforcement could most benefit from federal assistance, and Trump should direct his administration to advocate for the important changes that modern law enforcement executives continue to seek.
Gil Kerlikowske served as chief of police in Seattle, Buffalo and the Florida communities of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie. Kerlikowske is a resident of Charleston.