The White House on Monday disputed an NBC report claiming that President Donald Trump would claim that systemic raciscm infected local police departments, during an executive order signing on Monday.
“I think there was some misreporting on this earlier,” a senior administration official said Monday on background in a briefing with reporters, when asked about a report that the executive order would ultimately side with Black Lives Matter protesters on the issue of systemic racism in police departments.
The official repeated that the majority of police officers were good and that the event would bring together members of law enforcement and families who lost loved ones to police shootings for the ceremony.
The executive order, expected to be signed on Tuesday, incentivizes local police departments to improve their use of force standards, in response to the George Floyd protests.
A senior administration official blamed the failure of local police departments to modernize and update use of force standards in areas that experienced violent protests, looting, and rioting.
“If you look at Minneapolis, if you look at Ferguson, if you look at Baltimore, a lot of the training, materials, and standards are outdated,” the official said.
The president’s order will focus on two additional elements, according to a senior administration official: tracking extensive use of force of police officers across police departments, and allowing police to create programs allowing social workers to help them respond to some non-violent police calls that focus on mental health or homelessness.
The executive order would encourage local police departments to make the improvements, according to the White House, offering additional funding grants to departments making the changes.
The official described the president as a “man of action” and wanted to bring police departments closer to the community. He also felt that it was important to increase funding for police departments, rather than defunding them, as many Democrats have proposed.