Acting DEA administrator says Trump ‘condoned police misconduct’ in remarks about handling suspects

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said in an email to staff members over the weekend that President Trump had “condoned police misconduct” in remarking to officers in Long Island that they need not protect suspects’ heads when loading them into police vehicles.

.. Cox said the group’s view is the president’s remark “wasn’t funny. We were not laughing.”

.. “Even if it’s an attempt at humor, it sends the wrong message,” said Darrel Stephens, a former Charlotte police chief and now executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. “Officers are expected and almost always do act within a framework of their policies and procedures and within the law. … It’s not something that you should joke about.”