YPSILANTI, MI -- Police Chief Tony DeGiusti took to the city's Facebook page Wednesday to discuss police conduct in the wake of controversial comments made by President Donald Trump in late July.

"We hold the guiding principle that (Ypsilanti is) a welcoming and inclusive community and in that vein we are dedicated to protecting all that live, work, play and go to school here," DeGiusti wrote on Wednesday, Aug. 2.

"We cannot control the speech or actions of others, but we can concentrate on providing the best possible police services to those in need."

The Ypsilanti Police Department's Chief Tony DeGiusti has released a statement regarding recent national conversations... Posted by City of Ypsilanti, MI on Wednesday, August 2, 2017

The post was in response to comments Trump made during a Friday, July 28 speech at Suffolk County Community College in New York.

During the speech, Trump praised officers for their conduct and bravery in light of the nature of their jobs.

But when speaking of possibly funding an additional 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to help root out the MS-13 drug cartel, Trump told officers they were being too nice on the job.

"When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon you just see them thrown in rough. I said, please don't be too nice," Trump said.

"Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, don't hit their head and they've just killed somebody -- don't hit their head.

"I said, you can take the hand away, okay?"

Trump's comments were greeted with laughter and applause in response. Many police departments around the country, however, didn't find it funny. They took to Twitter and other social media platforms to denounce the remarks, including departments in New York, Texas, New Orleans and Florida.

DeGiusti said in his statement that the actions of the Ypsilanti Police Department are not affected by outside beliefs of those not on the force.

"I want to reassure our citizens that the Ypsilanti Police Department is not influenced by these comments or others made on the national stage," he wrote.

"We have a culture within the department that promotes service to the community and a mantra that we will treat everyone with dignity and respect. That is who we are and how we conduct ourselves."