Roll Call: Will the Trump administration benefit the law enforcement community?

President Donald Trump has been in office for more than 30 days. Throughout America, rank and file police officers supported Trump in his bid to return to the White House.

There are many police executives throughout the country who did not support the Trump campaign for a variety of reasons, but the one that stuck out most occurred in communities where political leadership did not support Trump and instructed their police chiefs to refrain from making any public statements supporting the Trump campaign.

I will try to answer some questions on how Trump’s recent actions could impact law enforcement, including executive orders he already has issued as well as national police legislation pending in Washington, D.C. Some of this legislation was pending for years under the Biden administration and never moved anywhere.

Some executive orders that already have been issued by Trump and his administration include the executive order restoring the federal death penalty and protecting public safety. This executive order rescinds the moratorium on federal executions issued by the Department of Justice in 2021. And it further states that the policy of the United States is to ensure “the laws that authorize capital punishment are respected and faithfully implemented.”

But, most importantly, in my view, is an executive order to direct the U.S. Attorney General to pursue federal jurisdiction in death penalties involving “murder of law enforcement officers.” I have long believed that anyone who murders a law enforcement officer in the line of duty should face the death penalty.

Trump also signed an executive order on initial rescission of harmful prior executive orders and actions supporting law enforcement. This order includes advancing accountable policing and criminal justice practices to enhance public trust and public safety. The order allows local law enforcement, once again, to have unfettered access to surplus equipment through the Department of Defense or the Department of Justice and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.

This means that equipment essential to protecting communities against violent criminals and active shooter situations is available to law enforcement as is equipment for police agencies to respond to natural disasters.

President Trump’s repeal of an executive order under the Biden administration also pertains to laws regarding the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database and the National Decertification Index as well as the National Accreditation Standards Act.

The rescission of this executive order means that law enforcement is no longer required to comply with the act to receive federal funding. I do not agree with this aspect of the order. I believe there needs to be a national database of decertified police officers. I believe we should never be passing bad police officers from department to department. I would like to see this national database be open to the public so that any citizen can see whether a police officer should be decertified or was decertified.

I believe this should happen only after the police officer receives every legal avenue that every other citizen would receive to defend themselves. The officers have the right to a due process hearing exhausting all legal avenues before their names would be added to the National Decertification Index and be made public. But once those standards of due process are met, the public has a right to know.

Among key federal bills to watch and those that are pending in Washington, eventually working their way through Congress and hopefully ending up on the president’s desk is the Qualified Immunity Act of 2025.

The qualified immunity doctrine has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court since 1967. It provides law enforcement officers with legal protections from frivolous lawsuits, provided they act within the boundaries of the law.

Qualified immunity allows officers to perform a job, as prescribed by law, with no fear of retribution or financial ruin. In recent years, elected officials throughout the nation have tried to limit or eradicate these protections for police officers by ending qualified immunity.

Finally, there is a bill pending in Washington titled The Protect and Serve Act. This bill makes it a crime to knowingly assault a police officer and cause bodily harm and it provides mandatory sentencing. Protections would extend to state and local officers provided that the offense has a federal link. I am fully supportive of this bill.

I am fully supportive of strategies and legislation ensuring transparency, accountability and ethical policing. Whether or not you agree with President Trump’s policies, whether or not you support him, I would ask you to think about these executive orders and pro-police legislation that is pending in Washington.

I think we can all agree that protecting America’s police officers is something we all want. After all, when you need help, you reach out via 911 and who responds to your call for help: the police officer who is your neighbor, friend, community member, baseball coach, who works day in and day out to keep you and your family safe.

• Tom Weitzel was chief of the Riverside Police Department. Follow him @chiefweitzel.