The huge crowd that descended on Downtown Cleveland last week to celebrate the Cavaliers’ NBA Championship was a good test for the city’s police. The upcoming Republican National Convention will attract just a fraction of more than a million people at the Cavs event. But as WKSU’s Kevin Niedermier reports, some police officials say that doesn’t mean the RNC will be an easier job.
Cleveland police union President Steve Loomis says keeping things under control at the Cavs celebration was difficult at times because of the event’s size and length. And it was hard to get food and water to many officers.
He commends the crowd for not getting out of hand and for making the parade and rally an enjoyable event. But Loomis stresses that this happy, sober crowd is not the kind of gathering that police will be dealing with in many cases at the RNC.
“I think we’re going to see a much different animal at the RNC. We’re going to have a lot of out of state people coming here specifically to protest, specifically to raise havoc. Historically that’s what we’ve seen at these RNCs and these DNCs. So we’re doing the best we can to prepare for that with the resources that we have.”
Loomis believes Cleveland needs more than the approximately 1,500 officers he says are currently committed to patrol the RNC. Deputy Chief Ed Tomba maintains that the department will be ready for the July event.
