Donald Trump was cheered by police officers as he told them not to be "too nice" when arresting "thugs".

In a speech on illegal immigration and law enforcement to police officers, Mr Trump appeared to say they should let suspects hurt themselves when being detained.

Mr Trump said of neighbourhoods plagued by gang violence: "When you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough, and I said: 'Please don't be too nice.'

"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?'"

Mr Trump offered no details on when and where he would have made those comments.


Image: Trump was cheered for telling police officers not to be 'too nice'

His remarks prompted some laughter, cheers and applause from the police officers at Suffolk County Community College in Long Island, New York.

The local police force later appeared to distance itself from Mr Trump's comments, tweeting: "As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners."

As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners. — Suffolk County PD (@SCPDHq) July 28, 2017

A Florida police force later rounded on the President, tweeting: "The @POTUS made remarks today that endorsed and condoned police brutality.

"GPD rejects these remarks and continues to serve with respect."

The @POTUS made remarks today that endorsed and condoned police brutality.



GPD rejects these remarks and continues to serve with respect. — Gainesville Police (@GainesvillePD) July 29, 2017

Mr Trump had travelled to a crime-afflicted neighbourhood to magnify the threat from gangs, including the largely Salvadoran MS-13, which has killed 17 people in the last 18 months.

"They kidnap, they extort, they rape and they rob," Mr Trump said, using language unusual for a US president.

"They prey on children. They shouldn't be here. They stomp on their victims. They beat them with clubs. They slash them with machetes. And they stab them with knives."

He also described an urban hell where "animals" gang members had "butchered" little girls, and "transformed peaceful parks and beautiful, quiet neighbourhoods into blood-stained killing fields".

His vow to all "criminal aliens" was: "We will find you, we will arrest you, we will jail you and we will deport you."

The Black Lives Matter campaign responded by re-posting a message on Twitter that read: "Dear @realDonaldTrump, Police are supposed to protect us. Not hurt us. We won't stop until we live in a world free from police brutality."

Dear @realDonaldTrump,



Police are supposed to protect us. Not hurt us. We won’t stop until we live in a world free from police brutality. — Women's March (@womensmarch) July 28, 2017

Ahead of Mr Trump's speech, the American Civil Liberties Union had accused the President of exercising a "cynical ploy" to "cast aspersions on entire communities and push his anti-immigrant agenda".

It said: "Trump's vile rhetoric and cruel deportation machine mean that vulnerable immigrants must fear both gangs and the government at once."