The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press issued a letter to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Police Chief Calvin Williams asking for an exemption to the ban on gas masks in the event zone during the Republican National Convention.
The coalition of media organizations includes dozens of outlets including the Associated Press, Washington Post, The New York Times Company and Reuters America LLC.
The letter proposed that officers allow credentialed journalists to possess gas masks in the event zone in an exemption to the prohibited items list released by the city.
“I think theres a lot of legitimate concern about what will happen and Cleveland Police have not said that they won’t use tear gas,” Gregg Leslie of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press told newsnet5.com. “So I think you know reporters really need to be able to report on something like a riot or a disturbance.”
ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link said denying reporters gas masks is equivalent to suppression of the media.
“If you’re not able to cover a breaking news story, the public is cheated,” Link said. “There absolutely has to be an exemption for reporters.”
Philadelphia police are not restricting the use of gas masks at the Democratic National Convention and have said they do not intend to use tear gas.
Tear gas was used at the RNC in St. Paul in 2008, which ended in about 800 arrests. Gas masks were banned in Tampa’s 2012 Convention which had just 2 arrests.
The City did not respond to an inquiry about the letter or response to the group’s wishes.
