Trump to join police, military patrols on streets in US capital

​​​​​​​By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Thursday he will patrol Washington, DC streets with police and military forces.

"I am going to be going out tonight ... I am going to be going out tonight with the police and with the military," Trump told conservative talk radio program, The Todd Starnes Show.

Trump defended his crime reduction efforts against criticism. "I mean, look, I have taken that crime in four days in DC ... All they do is they say he is a dictator."

Trump's remarks follow an August declaration of a "crime emergency" in Washington, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploying 800 National Guard troops to patrol streets.

Federal authorities have made 550 arrests since the operation began Aug. 7, with officials claiming significant reductions in violent crime and robberies. The crackdown has also involved the clearing of dozens of homeless encampments throughout the capital.

Critics have protested the federal intervention, with demonstrators chanting "Free DC" during visits by administration officials to thank the troops who are deployed.