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Police avoid mass arrests in Philly protests

 Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY7:04 a.m. EDT July 27, 2016

(Photo: Jasper Colt/USA TODAY NETWORK)

PHILADELPHIA -- With security concerns rising in advance of the national political conventions, theU.S. Justice Department quietly dispatched a delegation of law enforcement officials to Cleveland late last month to offer its endorsement of a strategy that played out successfully there and is now on display here.

Bike patrol units are guiding protesters on marches through the heart of the city, while a huge police presence features officers on virtually corner. Yet it is the extraordinary law enforcement deference that so far most mirrors the tactics deployed in both cities.

During the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, police reported just 24 arrests throughout the four-day run, despite anxiety-ridden expectations of mass arrests and potential violence in the streets. While the number of protesters in Philadelphia far exceed Cleveland, police recorded their first arrests Tuesday night when four people were detained without incident after scaling a perimeter fence and charged with entering a restricted area.

All four were expected to make their first appearances in federal court Wednesday.

Police have issued citations to 55 protesters for disorderly conduct, but Mayor Jim Kenney said earlier this week that the city would use citations — the equivalent of traffic tickets — in place of more provocative and unnecessary action.

Halfway through the Philadelphia convention, the strategy has been as effective as the security operation was in Cleveland, if not more so.

[Police have been using bike units in Philadelphia,]

Police have been using bike units in Philadelphia, as they did in Cleveland, during protests. (Photo: Jasper Colt/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Even when protesters were cited — all involving one incident when activists attempted to scale barricades near the convention headquarters at Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia police Commissioner Richard Ross said there were no ugly confrontations. He said Tuesday afternoon that virtually all volunteered their identification and cooperated fully with police.

"There have been a lot of demonstrations going on out there, but 98 percent have been very, very peaceful," Ross said. "Not violent in any way."

The success so far, authorities said, can be attributed at least in part to last month’s meeting of law enforcement officials in Cleveland, as the nation reeled from the deadly ambush of five police officers in Dallas who were detailed to protect demonstrations against the recent use of deadly force by law enforcement in Louisiana and Minnesota.

“A huge point of the discussion (in Cleveland) was the importance of employing a low-key approach in both cities,’’ said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, who organized the meeting on behalf of the Justice Department. “The state of the art in managing these events now is to move away from anything that can unnecessarily antagonize the crowd. And there was broad agreement on that.

“If people want to get arrested, you accommodate them; if people block the roads and you can re-direct traffic around it, re-direct the traffic,’’ Wexler said. “It’s a much better strategy than making mass arrests. I think there is agreement now that should be avoided at all costs.’’

The unusual deference was particularly evident Tuesday during a demonstration by the Westboro Baptist Church, whose small group spewed a provocative stream of insults at a counter group before police used their bikes to create a safe distance between them.

[Ernest Rando (right) speaks with a member of law enforcement]

Ernest Rando (right) speaks with a member of law enforcement during the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Rando set up an information booth in FDR Park for protesters. (Photo: Jasper Colt/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Eric Ferrero, spokesman for Amnesty International, which dispatched a group of observers to the demonstration, said the police buffer allowed the two groups to have their say before it broke up without incident.

“There was a tough moment or two, but it ended peacefully,’’ said Ferrero, whose groups also were observing protester-police encounters in Cleveland, where there was fairly little to observe.

So far, the extreme temperatures—not clashes related to demonstrations—have claimed the most casualties.

Two officers were treated for heat-related illnesses and another was injured when he stepped into an open manhole. All have since returned to duty.

Heat-related illnesses also were suffered by two visitors to the city. Both were treated and released.

Ross said Tuesday that the operation was “going as planned,’’ and law enforcement would be sticking with the strategy that relies heavily on the low-key bike patrol and “patience.’’

During a briefing with reporters Tuesday, Ross uttered the word at least a half dozen times, as he outlined the law enforcement strategy and its application on the crowded streets.

“I’m very happy with what (officers) are doing so far,’’ said the commissioner, who like Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams has been a ubiquitous presence on the street.

“You have to be out there,’’ Ross said.

Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, said Philadelphia is running a similar plan because it works.’

“It’s the way it needs to be done,’’ Loomis said. “The protest game is to suck police into a confrontation. As long as you know what the game is, it’s easy to play.’’

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