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Trump reversed Obama-era efforts to demilitarize police, now falsely says Obama 'never even tried'
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-falsely-claims-obama-never-even-tried-to-reform-police-2020-6As President Donald Trump outlined his executive order on policing in the Rose Garden on Tuesday — in a rambling monologue that was more like one of his campaign rallies than a formal announcement — he falsely claimed that former President Barack Obama didn't try to reform law enforcement during his tenure.
"President Obama and Vice President Biden never even tried to fix this during their eight-year period," Trump said. "The reason they didn't try is because they had no idea how to do it. And it is a complex situation."
But Trump actually rolled back Obama-era efforts designed to quell police brutality, including an executive order aimed at demilitarizing the police.
In 2014, after a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, people across the US looked on in horror as protesters were met by police officers equipped like soldiers.
Since the 1990s, billions of dollars' worth of surplus military gear and weapons have been transferred to police departments across the US under the 1033 Program, created by Congress in 1989 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
In 2015, Obama signed an executive order banning the transfer of certain military equipment — "tracked armored vehicles, bayonets, grenade launchers, ammunition of .50-caliber or higher and some types of camouflage uniforms" — to the police, The Washington Post reported in May 2015.
In August 2017, Trump rolled back this executive order, effectively endorsing the militarization of the police.
"President Obama and Vice President Biden never even tried to fix this during their eight-year period," Trump said. "The reason they didn't try is because they had no idea how to do it. And it is a complex situation."
But Trump actually rolled back Obama-era efforts designed to quell police brutality, including an executive order aimed at demilitarizing the police.
In 2014, after a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, people across the US looked on in horror as protesters were met by police officers equipped like soldiers.
Since the 1990s, billions of dollars' worth of surplus military gear and weapons have been transferred to police departments across the US under the 1033 Program, created by Congress in 1989 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
In 2015, Obama signed an executive order banning the transfer of certain military equipment — "tracked armored vehicles, bayonets, grenade launchers, ammunition of .50-caliber or higher and some types of camouflage uniforms" — to the police, The Washington Post reported in May 2015.
In August 2017, Trump rolled back this executive order, effectively endorsing the militarization of the police.
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