‘Keep Your Mouth Shut’: Houston Police Chief Responds to Trump

A police officer points a hand cannon at protesters who have been detained pending arrest on South Washington Street, Sunday, 31 May, in Minneapolis. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day.

(Photo: PTI)

United States President Donald Trump on Monday morning, 1 June, in a conference call, advised all the governors to "dominate" the ongoing protests over the killing of George Floyd. “If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” said Trump.

In response, Houston police chief Art Acevedo in an interview with CNN advised Trump to 'keep mouth shut'.

“Let me just say this to the President of the United States, on behalf of the police chiefs of this country: please, if you don’t have something constructive to say, keep your mouth shut,” he said.

He added, "It's not about dominance, it's about winning hearts and minds."

He also requested Trump to not put the lives of young people at risk.

Earlier, as protests intensified across the United States, several cops knelt and walked in solidarity with demonstrators, condemning Floyd’s death. Many Governors including the Governor of California too, had rejected Trump’s call for ‘dominance’.

Meanwhile, Trump has warned protestors of military action. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden on Monday, he said the violent protests in Washington DC over the death of George Floyd were a “disgrace” and warned that a curfew will be “strictly enforced,” even as protestors were pushed out of the park by authorities ahead of his address.

Floyd died on 25 May after he was pinned at the neck by a Minneapolis police officer. Many protests have gripped different parts of the United States in the last five days.