Despite the public’s calls for criminal justice reform amid instances of aggressive police brutality, President Trump caused a stir when he suggested that police officers should be even less restrained when dealing with suspects.
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Even actor Chris Evans voiced his disgust at the speech, calling Trump a “reckless moron” in the process:
You reckless moron. Do you have any idea what you're encouraging? You think a 'joke' makes it ok?? ZERO societal awareness and understanding https://t.co/7a3Qf3bOcP
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) August 1, 2017
“Do you have any idea what you’re encouraging?” he tweeted. “You think a ‘joke’ makes it ok?? ZERO societal awareness and understanding.”
Trump said the following in his speech to police officers in New York earlier in the week:
When you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon — you just see them thrown in, rough — I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice.’ Like when you guys put somebody in the car, and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, don’t hit their head, and they’ve just killed somebody — don’t hit their head. I said, ‘You can take the hand away, okay?’
Though the crowd cheered at his comments, many others, including several police departments, expressed their opposition to the suggestion.