President Obama on Monday announced executive actions to curb “simmering mistrust” between local police departments and minority communities, pledging that his push for more body cameras on cops and greater oversight of the use of military weapons by officers would ensure “this time will be different.”
Obama is calling for a three-year, $263 million spending package that would fund 50,000 new body cameras for police officers. That funding request must be approved by Congress.
The president will also issue an executive order calling on law enforcement agencies to better track the surplus, military-style weapons they receive from the government and bolster training for those using the the equipment.
Still, critics have accused Obama of not doing enough to address protesters’ concerns in the wake of a grand jury opting not to indict Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Cognizant of those concerns, the president, joined by members of his Cabinet, civil rights leaders and law enforcement officials, insisted Monday that his reforms would help address the concerns of those in Ferguson and other major American cities.
“This time will be different,” Obama said. “Part of the reason this time will be different is because the president of the United States is deeply invested in making sure that this time is different.”
However, the president’s actions would not halt the practice of supplying police officers with weapons usually reserved for military conflicts, and Congress appears unlikely to overhaul the Pentagon’s 1033 program, which supplies surplus gear to local police departments.
The president also announced a new task force to study community policing practices.
The White House has yet to announce any plans for Obama to travel to Ferguson. But his trio of meetings at the White House on Monday could lay the foundation for such a presidential trip.
“When I hear the young people around this table talk about their experiences, it violates my belief in what America can be,” Obama said. “To hear young people feeling marginalized and distrusted, even after they’ve done everything right, that’s not who we are.”
