Philadelphia— The Democratic National Convention concluded Thursday night with only a handful of arrests, despite demonstrations involving several thousand people.
The Philadelphia Police Department will release the final tallies late Friday afternoon. But by Wednesday evening, law enforcement had issued 103 citations accompanied by $50 fines, and DNC-related arrests were below 15 for the entire convention, by most mid-week tallies.
Throughout the convention, demonstrations often took an angry and defiant tone. At a Tuesday Black Lives Matter march, demonstrators chanted, “Take it to the streets and fuck the police.” Outside the convention center, protestors repeatedly tried to breach the perimeter, burning flags and clashing with law enforcement.
The police department and the police union could not be reached for comment. They’ve endured a shortage of about 400 officers this year, and cops worked 12-hour shifts throughout the convention in hazardous heat.
But Martina White, state representative whose district includes about 2,500 police officers, said they did Philadelphia proud this week.
“There were no issues in terms of safety, and that’s what we look for from our officers—that our communities are protected and our freedoms are maintained,” she said.
It could have been much worse. Earlier this week, some in law enforcement worried that the DNC’s embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement would legitimize anti-police sentiment. Philadelphia’s police union condemned the DNC’s initial decision to create a speaking slot the mothers of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown while allotting no similar attention to the officers killed in the line of duty.
On Thursday, the DNC backpedaled, unexpectedly announcing that the families of three slain police would speak. But chants of “Black Lives Matter” interrupted the moment of silence in the officers’ honor.
In preparation for the convention, Philadelphia decriminalized some minor offenses, issuing citations instead of making arrests. They also announced plans to forgo pepper spray and chemical irritants.
Cleveland also concluded peacefully, with the mayor’s office reporting just 24 arrests.
“Even from the outside, it was clear that the Philadelphia and Cleveland police chiefs and police officers did an excellent job with security,” said Malik Aziz, chair of the National Black Police Association.
In its relative tranquility, this year’s convention season resembled the 2012 events in Tampa, which saw two arrests, and Charlotte, which saw 25.
The 2008 conventions were much more chaotic. As Republican gathered in Saint Paul, more than 800 were arrested, including members of the media. And Denver ended up paying out a settlement after conducting mass arrests of more than 150 people at the Democratic National Convention that year.
— Jillian Kay Melchior writes for Heat Street and is a fellow for the Steamboat Institute and the Independent Women’s Forum.
