United States President Donald Trump. Photo / AP
United States President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order today aimed at curbing police brutality by directing federal dollars to those police departments that meet certain credentialing standards on the use of force.
The executive action also makes it harder for those officers with a troubled history from being hired by other departments.
Congress is also moving toward passing policing bills, but Trump was anxious to put his own stamp on the issue with a Rose Garden press conference in which he was flanked by representatives from the nation's leading law enforcement groups.
Here's a look at some of the topics in the order:
House Democrats are moving forward with a legislative package that would strictly ban police chokeholds, make it easier for victims of police violence to sue officers and departments and create a national database of police misconduct. https://t.co/uWydqlYNrs
— Robert Costa (@costareports) June 17, 2020
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PROVISIONS?
The Executive Order would give police departments a financial incentive to adopt best practices and encourage programmes in which social workers join police when they respond to nonviolent calls involving mental health, addiction and homeless issues.
The President's Executive Order also requires the attorney-general to create a database tracking terminations, criminal convictions and civil judgments against law enforcement officers for excessive use-of-force.
It encourages participation by providing certain grants only to those agencies that submit the required information.
Protester shoved by Buffalo police is unable to walk, attorney says https://t.co/5Fxs7Q5GXD pic.twitter.com/i1Jp2IIA0Q
— The Hill (@thehill) June 17, 2020
WHY TRACK OFFICER MISCONDUCT?
Many officers who wind up involved in a fatal incident have a long history of complaints made against them by the public, including Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis police officer who has been charged with murder in the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin had at least a dozen complaints made against him, according to records.
But those records are often not made public, making it difficult to know if officers have a track record.
And some police departments do a bad job of keeping track of misconduct claims, since not all are substantiated for a variety of reasons, and police reform groups say it's a missed opportunity to identify and correct problem behaviors before it turns fatal.
"It was the shock that I needed to finally wake up." The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked protests around the world. In France, protesters gathered to call for the country to take account of racial differences and discrimination.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 17, 2020
Read more. https://t.co/UQiLVfYJPz pic.twitter.com/kQ00AU2PnB
WHAT WILL A NATIONAL DATABASE DO?
A national database would force some departments into more transparency and accountability, but like other national clearinghouses, it depends on the locality's willingness to participate.
ARE CHOKEHOLDS BANNED?
Trump said he was banning chokeholds, but that's not the case. Rather, he's encouraging such bans through financial incentives.
Chokeholds have become a symbol of police brutality again following the death of Floyd.
They are a potentially tactical manoeuver in which an officer cuts off air to a person's neck. The officer involved in the death of Eric Garner was accused of using one, but has maintained he was employing a legal takedown manoeuver called the seatbelt which is similar but doesn't block air.
But chokeholds are already largely banned by many departments around the country.
The family of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police, has accused the Louisville Metro Police Department and city mayor in an open letter of "unlawfully" denying their open records requests for information on her case https://t.co/mAJIc7KRbG
— Axios (@axios) June 17, 2020
CAN THE ADMINISTRATION SET CONDITIONS ON FUNDING?
That could be a matter of legal dispute. There have been a number of lawsuits brought in the past against the Trump Administration for attempting to condition the same law enforcement funding on specific policies.
A similar situation happened in 2017 when the Justice Department said it would withhold grant money from so-called sanctuary cities and states until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released.
Courts around the country have been divided on the issue.
A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled last February to block the Trump Administration from imposing conditions that police departments cooperate with immigration authorities to receive law enforcement grants.
But earlier this year, a federal appeals court in New York said the Administration can withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants to force states to cooperate with immigration enforcement. That decision conflicted with three other federal appeals courts.
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough,” Robert Capa said.
— Philip Gourevitch (@PGourevitch) June 17, 2020
Isaac Scott got close:https://t.co/0X6NDOoyzv
HOW WOULD CERTIFICATION WORK?
The Executive Order instructs the Justice Department to push local police departments to be certified by a "reputable independent credentialing body."
Under the order, the Justice Department would ensure a department could only be credentialed if its use-of-force policies adhered to federal, state, and local laws.
An organisation called the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies already credentials police departments.
It lists more than 1000 departments it has credentialed, out of roughly 18,000 nationwide.
Matthew Hickman, a professor and criminal justice expert at Seattle University, said there's no definitive research proving credentialed agencies better serve the public.
"It's good for the public, arguably, to know that their agency has gone through a professional accreditation process," he said. "It says something about the commitment to best practices."
-AP
"We have to ban chokeholds... it is a bad practice and it has to end," says Senator @KamalaHarris.
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) June 17, 2020
"These are the very specific things that we know and actually a lot of best police practices acknowledge that these reforms are needed."https://t.co/8j7Lyrc0L5 pic.twitter.com/AJRLgApEgW
California spent $38.2 million deploying CHP officers to George Floyd protests https://t.co/CQ9Bb3Rwyi
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) June 17, 2020
The duration of service will also be extended from four to 11 months from next year.