The key to build trust between police departments and the communities they serve is to give law enforcement the resources, leadership, and training they need to protect America's communities, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Tuesday.
"This is not about defunding the police or law enforcement, it's about giving them the tools and resources they need to change their culture, and to reform if we see that and we need to do that," Wolf told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" before President Donald Trump was to unveil his executive order on police reform.
Meanwhile, Wolf said he thinks the situation in Seattle, where protesters after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, have taken over a section of the city and declared it as an "autonomous zone," was caused by a lack of city and state leadership.
"What they've effectively done is tie the hands of law enforcement, sanctioned six city blocks that violate laws and that puts particularly citizens in jeopardy. We are taking a look at actions that again if the mayor, state, and governor is not going to take action, (Trump) is for law and order and he's going to take the necessary steps. I would say we are taking a look at a variety of different options."
Meanwhile, defunding police departments nationwide and moving resources somewhere else is a "false choice," said Wolf, as funds are needed to address drug addiction and other social issues in a particular community.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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