Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling is touting extensive officer training as a critical part of the city’s preparations for next week's Democratic National Convention. About 50,000 people are expected in Chicago for the convention, including thousands of anti-war activists who plan to demonstrate near the United Center where Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the party’s nomination, reports the Associated Press. Snelling says the Chicago Police Department — working with federal law enforcement agencies — is prepared to deal with large crowds and any security concerns. “There’s a possibility that things could take a turn. Something could happen that we don’t expect,” Snelling said. We know that our officers can respond in a professional manner with training behind them. They’ll be more effective in decision making. And then the response becomes greater and better.”
Officers in the nation’s second-largest police force have undergone constitutional policing and de-escalation training over the past year. A smaller group of officers has received specialized instruction on responding to civil unrest and riots. Dozens of outside agencies that will help help secure the convention sites are getting 16 hours of training on Chicago policies, Snelling said. Chicago leaders traveled to Milwaukee for last month’s Republican National Convention to learn things to apply to security at the Democratic convention. Milwaukee officers received no additional training specific to the convention, said Police Chief Jeffrey Norman. The use of outside law enforcement agencies in Milwaukee came under scrutiny after Ohio police fatally shot a man armed with a knife at a park not far from the convention. Snelling said, “Obviously there were things that occurred in Milwaukee that could still occur here, but our officers are prepared to deal with those situations."