There’s no way around it: danger lurked on every street corner and curb during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week.
But if you know anything about me, I was actually excited to run into it. I practically invited it.
Nothing too serious happened, though. The Cleveland chief of police said nearly 500 of their police officers worked the streets this week, and another 1,000 flocked from in all over the country. If anything were to happen, the situation would be diffused quickly.
So as I prepared for the five-day journey (Brittany Schock and I traveled to Cleveland Sunday), I prepared for the worst. Here are some things I didn’t tell my mother, who, like most mothers, worried sick about me. I didn’t want to add to her anxiety.
Sorry mom, it was for your own good. Here’s what I didn’t tell you.
1.) Before hitting the streets each day, I wrote my publisher’s cell phone number, the Reporters Committee Hotline and my blood type on my arm in Sharpie. This was in case I was arrested and my phone was confiscated. The blood type was in case I was shot during a protest or lone-wolf terrorist attack.
With Ohio’s open-carry laws, the possibility of being shot was possible.
There were two close calls.
Rumors floated on social media Tuesday after Reuters reported scanner traffic had indicated “shots fired at a police transport.” Cleveland Police quickly refuted the report.
Also on Tuesday, I heard a loud bang close by. I was taking pictures in Public Square. As I ran to investigate, I found that a Kia’s front tire had blown.
2.) I wore a bandana around my neck. It wasn’t to add an extra layer of sun protection — it was in case the cops used tear gas on an unruly protest group. I almost took a bottle of vinegar, too, but found out that using vinegar to counteract the effect of tear gas is just a myth.
3.) I also brought extra contacts. I read that tear gas can actually make you go blind because contact solution and tear gas cause a chemical reaction that makes them stick to your eyes.
The extra contacts were useful. My right contact was ripped on Wednesday. I don’t know how that happened.
4.) In an effort to pack light, I did not bring a helmet or sunscreen. Who needs that?
5.) I made copies of my press badge, driver’s license and credit cards in case those essentials were stolen or destroyed.
6.) Some of the most infamous protest groups from around the country were expected in Cleveland, including RevComm, an anarchist group — who actually caused the week’s most severe problems.
And show up they did.
Seventeen members from RevComm were arrested Wednesday for assaulting police officers or resisting arrest during an American flag burning demonstration. Although that activity is controversial, it’s also a constitutionally protected right. Two officers were reported to have suffered minor injuries, and one photojournalist was arrested during the scuffle.
When that happened, I ran to the scene only to find the flag had been extinguished, and the RevComm people had already been detained. Rats.
In all, Cleveland Police reported 24 arrests since Sunday, July 17. The event was peaceful, for the most part.
There were a few times I felt my heart pounding because things got really heated between protest groups — some were heavily armed and not the type to engage in rational discussion.
But I almost always had an escape plan and I respected police orders. I also had a great pair of shoes and my old ’76 Varsity Schwinn that made escaping easy.
