Police forces across the country are struggling hard to overcome racial bias of officers and the widespread propensity to use excessive force.

His administration is in the midst of a deep chaos, but U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to be calling for more, and across the country, as he called upon the police to be “rough” and be “not too nice” when taking suspects into custody. Over the weekend, several police chiefs across the country rejected the President’s suggestion and asked their personnel to stick to established rules.

Police forces across the country are struggling hard to overcome racial bias of officers and the widespread propensity to use excessive force — nearly 500 people have been shot dead by police already in 2017. On an average, police kill 1,000 people in the U.S. every year, 30% of them African-Americans.

But the President exhorted the police to be rougher. Addressing a gathering of law enforcement officers in New York, the President said, “Please don't be too nice.” He said, the police at times try to protect the heads of the suspects while guiding them into the car.

“Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head…The way you put their hand over — like, don't hit their head and they just killed somebody, don't hit their head. I said, ‘You can take the hand away, OK?’” His comments were received with loud applause by the officers present.

But police chiefs across the country opposed the President’s suggestion, which rights groups have termed a call for police brutality. “It’s the wrong message… The last thing we need is a green light from the President of the United States for officers to use unnecessary force,” Chuck Wexler, Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum, told a Washington radio station, explaining the efforts police forces across the country are taking to build trust with communities.

“It's disappointing & disheartening to hear our Commander in Chief encourage & condone violation of suspect's rights,” Jim Ferraris, chief of Woodburn police in Oregon, said on Twitter.

James O'Neill, the police commissioner of the New York Police Department, on Saturday said the police must act according to rules "under any circumstance.” "To suggest that police officers apply any standard in the use of force other than what is reasonable and necessary is irresponsible, unprofessional and sends the wrong message to law enforcement as well as the public,” he said.

The police in Suffolk County in New York, where Mr. Trump made the speech, is under scrutiny by the federal justice department for its prolonged violent behaviour and racial prejudice. In 2015, the then police chief of the County, James Burke, was convicted on charges of beating up a handcuffed suspect. He is now serving a jail sentence. Soon after the President’s speech, the County Police said in a statement that “it has strict rules and procedures relating to the handling of prisoners. Violations of those rules are treated extremely seriously.” “As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners.”

Mr. Trump has repeatedly declared his intolerance for criticism of police and immigration officials by rights groups. He and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have called for tougher crime control measures and crackdown on undocumented residents.