Trump signs order on police reform

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order that he said would reform police practices even as he pressed for "law and order" nationwide.

After weeks of protests against racism and policy brutality prompted by the death of George Floyd, a black man killed on May 25 in police custody in Minneapolis, Trump sought to offer a policy response to rising concerns about racial injustice going into the Nov. 3 election, in which he is seeking a second term.

"Americans want law and order, they demand law and order," Trump said at a ceremony at the White House, reiterating a call that has angered protesters who have poured onto streets from New York to Los Angeles.

"Americans know the truth: Without police there is chaos, without law there is anarchy, and without safety there is catastrophe," Reuters cited him as saying.

Tuesday’s order encourages police departments to employ the latest standards for use of force, improve information sharing so that officers with poor records are not hired without their backgrounds being known, and add social workers to law enforcement responses to non-violent cases involving drug addiction and homelessness, officials said.