Keep your mouth shut: Houston Police chief tells Trump over protests

US President Donald Trump has been told to keep his “mouth shut” if he has nothing constructive to say. This came from Houston Police chief Art Acevedo after the President urged governors to get tough on the violent protests that have erupted following the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man.

“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,” Acevedo said while speaking to CNN.

The United States has been witnessing widespread protests in over 140 cities since Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25. In a video, he was seen gasping for breath while Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck. Floyd’s autopsy has declared that his death a homicide.

Trump had last courted controversy for his comments on Twitter, where he had said: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” in response to the reports of violence and looting during the protests over the killing of black man. However, he has later tried to walk back on his remark.

The President had, in a video conference with governors on Monday, suggested them to use the National Guard to “dominate” the protesters. He had also called them “weak” for not being able to suppress the growing protests. “You have to dominate. If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” he told them.

“This is not about dominating. It is about winning hearts and minds. And let’s be clear, we do not want to confuse kindness with weakness. We don’t want ignorance to ruin what we have managed to do to restore normalcy,” the police chief further said.

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