President Donald Trump says he met with several families who have lost loved ones in deadly encounters with police officers as he signed an executive order on police reform.

The US president told the families that “your loved ones will not have died in vain,” adding: “I can never imagine your pain or the depth of your anguish, but I can promise to fight for justice for all of our people.”

Mr Trump was preparing to sign an executive order that the White House says is aimed at promoting accountability in law enforcement.

It includes a provision that establishes a database for tracking officers with excessive use of force complaints.

Police departments would be able to check the database before hiring someone from another department.

The executive order follows the death on May 25 of George Floyd at the knee of a white Minneapolis officer and large protests in cities throughout the country.

Mr Trump also used the ceremony to criticise what he describes as “radical and dangerous efforts to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments.”

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