US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was finalizing an executive order focused on police reform, in the wake of the protests over police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
“We’re working to finalize an executive order that will encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for deescalation,” Trump said at a roundtable with law enforcement in Dallas, according to Politico.
“Also, we’ll encourage pilot programs that allow social workers to join certain law enforcement officers so that they work together,” he added.
Decrying calls from activists to defund the police and funnel that money to other community programs, Trump said he wanted to increase investment in law enforcement.
“We’re not defunding police. If anything we’re going the other route,” Trump said. “We’re going to make sure our police are well trained, perfectly trained, they have the best equipment.”
The President also announced plans to build “safety and opportunity and dignity” by increasing access to capital for minority-owned small businesses and confronting health care disparities in communities of color.
The United States has been swept by protests since Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis, when a white officer pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes in an episode that was captured on cellphone video.
On Sunday, the Minneapolis City Council voted to disband the local police department.
Nine of the council’s 13 members made the pledge. Members of the council told The New York Times they plan to work with the local community to develop the new system following the death of George Floyd.
"Defund the police" has become a common refrain among protesters across the country in the last two weeks. Activists say they support demilitarizing and cutting funds for police departments and reallocating money to other services such as affordable housing and mental health.
Trump, however, rejected those calls, saying on Monday, "There won’t be defunding. There won’t be dismantling of our police, and there’s not going to be any disbanding of our police. Our police have been letting us live in peace, and we want to make sure we don’t have any bad actors in there.”
He added that he believes "99 percent" of officers are "great people."