CHICAGO (NewsNation) — The Chicago Police Department is expecting an estimated 500 out-of-town officers to help with the upcoming Democratic National Convention, just weeks after visiting cops shot and killed a homeless man in Milwaukee outside the Republican National Convention.
Chicago Police have spent more than a year preparing a safety plan to balance keeping 50,000 DNC visitors safe while continuing to serve the city’s 2.7 million residents.
CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said while his department will remain nimble, the incident in Milwaukee has no bearing on how safety will be carried out during next month’s DNC.
Ohio officers fatally shot Samuel Sharp, Jr. outside the RNC after they saw him with a knife during an altercation with another man. After the shooting, Milwaukee Police decided to pair visiting officers with Milwaukee cops for the rest of the convention.
Snelling said that visiting officers — mostly from around Illinois and Milwaukee — will assist with infrastructure in and around the restricted areas near the United Center and McCormick Place.
The police superintendent added that the visiting officers will go through eight and 12 hours of training to instruct them on Chicago Police procedures and expectations.
Visiting cops will not be used in Chicago neighborhoods and will not be in areas “where we know there’s a possibility that they would have to take some police action,” Snelling said at a news conference outlining the U.S. Secret Service’s DNC security plan.
Doing so frees up Chicago Police officers to work in “more volatile areas” in hopes of promoting safety during the DNC, Snelling said.
“What we’re looking for is a safe and a successful DNC,” Snelling said. “It has to be safe in order to be successful… As we assess and as we move forward, we will continue to do what is absolutely necessary to keep the city safe.”
Chicago Police officials visited Milwaukee during the RNC. Snelling said there were aspects of Milwaukee’s safety plan that could be implemented in Chicago next month.
Milwaukee’s plan required visiting officers to remain out of “non-forward-facing roles.” Those coming to Chicago will also not be in areas accustomed to local police protection, Snelling said.
Although visiting offers aren’t going to handle police action in neighborhoods, there may be regular police duties required in the areas they’re assigned.
Snelling did not address the city’s officer manpower and allocation of officers, which is still being finalized. He described the allotment of officers as highly trained and capable of dealing with what comes up. But, Snelling said, the main priority is to protect the whole city, not just the DNC.
“This is not just about the Democratic National Convention,” Snelling said. “The Chicago Police Department has an obligation to the entire City of Chicago…. We will make sure that the neighborhoods that need us the most, we will be there.”