President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House in January after winning the 2024 presidential election. He will be just the second U.S. president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Many Americans are wondering what policies they should expect with Trump’s return to the White House. A significant part of Trump’s campaign platform was centered around reducing crime and emboldening police officers. Now that he’s elected, several people including Morris asked if Trump plans on giving police officers immunity from prosecution, which would mean they could commit acts that would currently be considered crimes without fear of legal action.
THE QUESTION
Has Trump said he’ll give police immunity from prosecution?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, Trump has said he’ll give police immunity from prosecution, although he has been vague on the details or how he would implement a policy.
WHAT WE FOUND
Donald Trump said he plans on giving police immunity from prosecution multiple times while on the campaign trail, including at two rallies and in an interview at the annual National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention.
During a May 1, 2024 rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Trump said, “We're going to give our police their power back, and we're going to give them immunity from prosecution, so they're not prosecuted for doing their job.”
Trump said something similar during a July 27, 2024 rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota: “We're going to give immunity to police, so they can do their job. I'm giving federal immunity to police officers, so they can do their job.”
A few days later, Trump clarified in a July 31 interview at the NABJ convention that this immunity wouldn’t extend to every single case of police misconduct.
When asked why the police officer who shot and killed Sonya Massey, a Black Illinois woman who first called the police to her home to report a suspected prowler, should get immunity from prosecution, Trump said “Well, he might not.” He continued: “It depends. It depends on what happens. I'm talking about people that are much different cases than that … In this particular case, I saw something that didn't look good to me. I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all.”
A moderator then asked Trump who would make the distinction between which officers should receive immunity and which ones shouldn’t.
“Well, right now, for the most part, for the most part, people are protected by their unions, by their police unions or by their police departments,” Trump answered. “But I'm saying if I felt or if a group of people would feel that somebody was being unfairly prosecuted because the person did a good job maybe with crime or made a mistake, an innocent mistake, there's a big difference between being a bad person and making an innocent mistake. But if somebody made an innocent mistake, I would want to help that person.”
He was then asked what those exceptions would be and how an “innocent mistake” would be determined.
“You go after somebody and it's a very close call and it's very dangerous and they have... The policeman's life and woman is a very difficult thing because sometimes you have less than a second to make a life and death decision, and sometimes very bad decisions are made,” Trump said. “They're not made from an evil standpoint, but they're made from the standpoint of they made a mistake.”
Trump’s campaign website, which details his “Agenda47” plan, and the Republican Party’s 2024 platform are also both vague on the subject of police immunity.
Trump’s website says he plans to sign a bill that will “increase vital liability protections for America’s law enforcement officers.” The Republican Party platform promises the party will protect officers from “frivolous lawsuits.”
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