White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said President Donald Trump is expected to make an announcement on an executive order on police reform on Tuesday.
The move comes during weeks of protests following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody. Four officers were fired, and one former officer, Derek Chauvin, faces second-degree murder charges.
“I think it won’t surprise you it will talk about the role of law enforcement, making sure that people understand the role is to keep their communities safe and their neighborhoods protected, and that we don’t want to cast aspersions over an entire industry,” she said.
The specifics of the order were not detailed.
Trump last week said the White House was working on an executive order that would encourage police departments to meet “professional standards” in use of force.
“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 de-escalation,” Trump said during a meeting in Dallas, Texas.
During the Dallas meeting, the president outlined a four-point plan to address the issue, including increasing access to capital for business owners in minority communities, dealing with racial disparities in health care, implementing an executive order to have police departments meet professional standards on use of force, as well as a pilot program for social workers to be employed in police departments, and a push to have Congress pass a bill on school choice.
Trump at the time declared that his administration does not support the calls to defund or dismantle police departments.
“We’ll take care of our police … we’re not defunding police,” he said at the time. “If anything, we’re going the other route: We’re going to make sure that our police are well trained, perfectly trained, they have the best equipment.”
This week, the calls for police reform intensified after a police officer shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, a black man, in Atlanta, Georgia, which sparked demonstrations and rioting over the weekend.
