The agitators are no longer getting a ‘free walk’ for violence.
Cleveland police officials are changing the city's security plans for the upcoming Republican National Convention in the wake of the massacre in Dallas on Thursday night.
Cleveland Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba announced the changes Friday, telling Reuters: "We have got to make some changes without a doubt" in the wake of the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers — the deadliest attack on law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
A spokeswoman later confirmed that the city is revamping the convention security plan, but declined to detail how the plan is changing.
"We don't discuss tactics or deployment," Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia, a Cleveland police spokeswoman, said in an email. Tomba was not available for further comment.
Cleveland has about 1,700 police officers and about a third of the force will be assigned to convention-related duties, while federal agencies and out-of-town forces – mostly from across Ohio – will help secure the convention perimeter. Tomba is overseeing convention security planning and is the city's main point of contact with out-of-town police agencies that are sending officers to help support local, state and federal officials guarding downtown Cleveland during the convention from July 18-21.
In the Reuters interview, Tomba said he has emailed the chiefs of police sending personnel to Cleveland, "reassuring them we are prepared and let them know we cannot pull the plan off without them," he said.
Philadelphia, site of the Democratic National Convention from July 25-28, has not announced any changes to its existing convention security plans, according to Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for Mayor Jim Kenney.