WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump’s speech on Long Island (all times local):
8:20 p.m.
The police department in the New York county where President Donald Trump appeared to advocate rougher treatment of suspects is condemning the practice.
The Suffolk County Police Department says it has strict rules and procedures for how prisoners should be handled. It says violations of those rules and procedures are treated “extremely seriously.”
The police department added: “We do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners.”
It released the statement after Trump spoke at Suffolk County Community College about efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and violent crime, including by the MS-13 street gang.
During the speech, Trump spoke dismissively of the police practice of protecting suspects’ heads while putting them in patrol cars.
___
3 p.m.
President Donald Trump appeared to advocate rougher treatment of people in police custody during a speech in New York.
Trump spoke dismissively of arresting officers who protect suspects’ heads while putting them in police cars in a speech in front of law enforcement on Long Island.
He said: “You can take the hand off,” drawing cheers from his audience.
Trump also claimed that laws are written to “protect the criminal” and “not the officers.”
He told the law enforcement officials that the “laws are stacked against you” and need to be changed.
___
2:05 p.m.
President Donald Trump is pledging to “destroy” the violent MS-13 street gang and other similar organizations.
He says he’s more focused on MS-13 because it is “particularly violent.” Trump says MS-13’s members don’t like to shoot their victims because death comes too fast. He says MS-13 members prefer to knife and cut their victims, so they die slowly and more painfully.
Trump says of MS-13: “These are animals.”
The president is addressing law enforcement officials and relatives of crime victims in Brentwood, in Suffolk County, New York, where MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, has committed a string of gruesome murders, including the April killing of four young men.
___
2 p.m.
President Donald Trump has arrived in New York to speak about the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and violent crime.
Trump was speaking Friday at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood on Long Island. The venue is close to where the ultra-violent street gang MS-13 has committed a string of gruesome murders, including April’s massacre of four young men.
The president is expected to continue his tough talk on immigration and urge Congress to dedicate more funding to border enforcement and faster deportations.
Law enforcement officials and family members of crime victims are expected to be in the audience.
Critics of Trump’s desire for stepped-up border enforcement and swifter deportations say the money could be better spent on other programs.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.