COLUMBUS, Ohio �� The president of the Cleveland police union said Ohio Gov. John Kasich should declare a state of emergency and ban the open carrying of weapons in the city during the Republican National Convention, a request the governor said he can't grant.
Detective Steve Loomis of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association said union lawyers were drafting a request to Kasich after three officers were shot to death and three others were wounded in Baton Rouge, La.
"It's taking away our interest from where it should be focused," Loomis said by phone on Sunday about the open carrying of weapons during the convention.
The governor said while he's sympathetic to the concerns of law enforcement, he doesn't have the authority.
"Law enforcement is a noble, essential calling and we all grieve that we've again seen attacks on officers," Kasich spokeswoman Emmalee Kalmbach said by email. "Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested."
"Don't tell me it can't be done," Loomis said. "It needs to be done."
The specter of unrest and potential violence hangs over the convention in Cleveland, with the volatile mix of daily demonstrations planned by groups both for and against Donald Trump and uneasiness following the shooting of officers in Baton Rouge Sunday and in Dallas on July 7.
The "open carry" of firearms by those allowed to have weapons is a legal activity in Ohio, according to a state attorney general's manual. Weapons are not allowed inside the arena where the convention will be held or in the secure area around it.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams was asked about the state's open-carry law on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, and said it's always a challenge when firearms and the public mesh.
"But we've had open carry scenarios in this city before. And we've handled them," Williams said. "We plan to handle them the same way as we always have. Of course, we've ramped that up a little as far as our technique and our tactics to handle them. But in this state, everyone has the right to open carry. And we want to make sure people do that safely."
