Mich. troopers sworn in at Republican National Convention
CLEVELAND (WJBK) - Dozens of Michigan State Troopers have made their way down to Cleveland to lend a helping hand with security during the Republican National Convention.
A post from Michigan State Police on Facebook says the troopers were sworn in on Sunday -- and are now officially part of the Cleveland Police Department.
"Troopers were sworn in yesterday by law enforcement officials from the City of Cleveland, officially making them sworn officers of the Cleveland Police Department. This provides MSP troopers with complete law enforcement abilities while in Ohio," the post reads.
Thousands of officers from across the country are on the ground for added security.
Security concerns come amid political unrest following two recent officer-involved shootings in other cities. The latest was in Baton Rouge, La. where a former Marine ambushed police, shooting and killing three officers less than two weeks after a black man was fatally shot by police there in a confrontation that sparked nightly protests that reverberated nationwide.
That shooting also came about a week after five officers were ambushed and killed in Dallas at the end of a Black Lives Matter protest.
FOX 2's Roop Raj is at the convention, and reports three official protests are scheduled in Cleveland on Monday but the unsanctioned ones are what have police on heightened alert.
Authorities are on heightened alert, also, because Ohio is an open carry state. The Cleveland police chief says that security planners considered whether a ban on the open carry of firearms could be enforced during the convention, but learned that police had no authority to override state law.
The issue surrounding open carry has become a concern in Cleveland after the fatal shootings of police in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in recent days.
The president of one of Cleveland's police unions asked Ohio Gov. John Kasich to suspend the law that allows legal gun owners to carry firearms openly. Kasich countered that he doesn't have the authority to do so.
Several people showed up on Cleveland's Public Square on Sunday carrying firearms. About a dozen people had guns before the start of a Monday rally.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said Monday that police officers are being told to be especially cautious. There are concerns about violent protests during the RNC between supporters and foes of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Cleveland police reported one arrest Sunday after a man tried to grab a police officer's gas mask.
Monday also happens to be the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Cleveland's Hough riots. The riots that began July 18, 1966, were sparked by a confrontation between black residents and a white bar owner and led to nearly a week of looting and violence in one of the city's east side neighborhoods.
This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 2 for our coverage from Roop Raj, and from The Americans with Charlie LeDuff for the latest from the RNC.
The Associated Press contributed to this report