Trump's 'inadequate' executive order on police reform will not make up for president's 'inflammatory rhetoric' and policies, Schumer says

Democrat leaders slam president's chokehold ban that allows deadly manoeuvre 'in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law'

Donald Trump's executive order on policing "will not make up for his years of inflammatory rhetoric and policies designed to roll back" law enforcement reforms, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The New York Democrat also criticised the president's order on Tuesday as an "inadequate" response to urgent demands for reform in the wake of police killings of black Americans.

Mr Schumer said: "Unfortunately, this executive order will not deliver the comprehensive meaningful change and accountability in our nation's police departments that Americans are demanding ... Congress needs to quickly pass strong and bold legislation with provisions that make it easier to hold police officers accountable for abuses, and President Trump must commit to signing it into law."

Amid calls to divert millions of dollars from police department budgets to social services, the president's order — which initiates no immediate action but offers a set of guidelines — calls to increase grant funding, earmarked for training.

It also calls for a ban on chokeholds, unless an officer's life is in danger, a mandate that's already in place in some of the nation's largest police departments but has proved difficult to enforce. The order instead makes an exception for the manoeuvre "except in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law".

"We will have reform without undermining our great police officers," the president said on Tuesday. "Americans want law and order. They demand law and order. They may not say it. They may not be talking about it, but that's what they want. Some of them don't even know that that's what they want. But that's what they want."

It also encourages social workers and other health workers to respond to non-emergency calls.

Mr Schumer's remarks refer to the president's gutting of reform efforts established under former president Barack Obama following brutality protests in Ferguson, Missouri, including the Trump administration's move to allow police departments to stockpile military equipment and an end to federal oversight.

The president has also encouraged violence at his rallies, telling his supporters to "knock the crap out" of protesters and saying he would defend them in court.

Both the US Senate and Congress are weighing police reform legislation. The House measure would place a nationwide ban on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, standardise use-of-force policies and create a federal database to document police misconduct.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also criticised the president's order, saying that it "falls sadly and seriously short of what is required to combat the epidemic of racial injustice and police brutality that is murdering hundreds of Black Americans."

"The Executive Order lacks meaningful, mandatory accountability measures to end misconduct," she said in a statement. "During this moment of national anguish, we must insist on bold change, not meekly surrender to the bare minimum."

Black Lives Matter organisers and demonstrators have called for more drastic changes by redirecting city budgets to investments in social services, including healthcare, education, housing and schools, as part of a nationwide push to "defund the police" as Americans continue to march in the streets following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.