In spite of what his critics say, President Trump does not only communicate through his Twitter account. The official White House website is an excellent resource to cut through the media noise and drill down to discover what matters most to our president. Take a look at the “Issues” tab, and one of the six items listed is “Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community.” President Trump recently doubled down on this subject, releasing a statement on February 11th, 2017 expanding on how he plans to put this pledge into action.
The memorandum examines three specific executive orders. Each is designed to set the tone for the entire federal government when it comes to the relationship between Washington and the law enforcement community as a whole.
The first order is a stern warning to those criminals who target law enforcement. The Trump administration is prepared to aggressively prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law. The second creates a task force designed to reduce crime and restore public safety. The White House clearly wants to play an active role in addressing crime in the United States. His third order shifts the focus of federal law enforcement by prioritizing the targeting and destruction of drug cartels operating within the United States. This order goes hand in hand with other plans to realign the responsibility for terrorism prevention to better border controls and vetting instead of placing the burden on state and local law enforcement.
Liberty Nation sat down with a member of the law enforcement community to discuss President Trump and the future of America’s relationship with its crime fighters. Sergeant Milton “Ed” Coleman, a retired twenty-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, is hopeful for the future but pragmatic about the current crime situation in America.
When asked about what he wishes for from the new administration, Sergeant Coleman replied:
We have so many laws on the books right now that aren’t being enforced. I would just like to see the ones we have get enforced. We have immigration laws -- they’re not being enforced... Gun laws and everything else, they’re not being enforced. So just enforce the laws we have. We don’t need any more laws made.
Fortunately for the country, President Trump is proving to be a man of action. Already, he is clamping down on cities that refuse to enforce the law by denying federal funds.
The President also wields significant influence on the policies that states and municipalities set and impose. Under the Obama administration, several states have legalized marijuana use in one form or another flouting federal law. However, because of the priorities of that President, these jurisdictions were not punished, and federal agents did not start raiding dispensaries in Colorado or Washington. The chief executive wields enormous power when it comes to requiring the enforcement of one law or another.
Whether or not the nation can move past this current pro and anti-police division remains to be seen. Unfortunately, the fight between the left and the right has also enveloped the law enforcement community. Sergeant Coleman has a prescription for a better future. “It doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican, I would just like to see everybody work together for the common good of the people again.”
Time will tell if President Trump can unite the nation, but today one thing is sure -- if forced to pick a team, the President is going to choose the side of the law enforcement community every time.
