Read the PDF of our statement here.
LDF Statement on President Trump’s Remarks Encouraging Police Brutality
In a speech to law enforcement today in Long Island, New York, President Trump suggested that officers should be less protective of arrestees in their custody, effectively encouraging police brutality. Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) issued the following statement:
“The Trump administration has consistently prioritized law enforcement over the communities they serve at the expense of constitutional protections and the rule of law, but the President’s remarks today encouraging police officers to disregard the safety of individuals in their custody rises to a new level of danger. No person, especially those who have only been accused of a crime, should be abused by those entrusted to uphold the law. The President’s mocking of the treatment of arrestees as they are escorted into a police vehicle is particularly reprehensible in light of the police in-custody death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, where this administration’s Justice Department has attempted to impede the implementation of much-needed policing reform.
“Our nation faces significant challenges in police use-of-force. We need law enforcement who do not share the Trump Administration’s outdated and unlawful views to promote protecting the rights and safety of all Americans by condemning those who condone impunity among law enforcement.”
Press:
###
Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
