© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
News
To contact us with news tips, story ideas or other related information, e-mail newsstaff@ideastream.org.

Large Show of Force but Fews Arrests at RNC

At Public Square    (urycki)

Despite a wide spectrum of political viewpoints among convention protesters this week, police have made only a handful (five) of arrests, and they were mostly minor offenses. Ideastream’s Mark Urycki reports on how the police have achieved that.

 

 

The biggest scuffle so far was at Public Square yesterday with communists, conservative radio host Alex Jones, Bikers for Trump, and the Westboro Baptist Church all on hand.    

One man lunged at another and Police Chief Calvin Williams was caught in the middle and nearly went down. Police spokesman Jennifer Ciaccia.

“Some people were reporting that he was pushed.  He was actually not pushed. He had a male approach him trying to get to someone very close to the chief. So he actually separated those two.  He’s fine.

Officers charged into the scene and took over the square but no one was arrested.  And that’s been the system so far this week.  Police have been overlooking all manner of violations as long as no person or property is hurt. 

“We’re trying to work with people and that’s been our posture all along.”

It doesn’t hurt to have thousands of officers from coast to coast to help out. They’ve been able to nearly surround any group that takes to the streets,  their police radios crackling with alerts about any armed or suspicious person.

Ciaccia says the large show of force comes from 100 different departments.

 “So of course there is going to be a really high law enforcement presence.  They’re really, really visible.  We’ve got squads of men and women walking in uniform throughout downtown.  So that’s a huge optic and we do want people to know we are here and we want you to be safe.”  

There’ve been only a handful of arrests so far.  When cops have seen people with banned items, like a gas mask for instance, they have confiscated the items or told the owner to leave.

 

Mark.Urycki@ideastream.org