CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland police chief says that security planners considered whether a ban on the open carry of firearms could be enforced during this week’s Republican National 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.
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