Gearing up and getting ready for the Republican National Convention!
Fire, police, and sheriff's departments, across northeast Ohio, are preparing for the RNC.
William Holland, with the Summit County Sheriff's office, said the department will assist Cleveland police with the convention. Part of their focus will be on monitoring protesters.
"Protesters can be a problem sometimes! They're there to get a rise out of police or law enforcement or anyone, so we need to make sure we maintain professionalism," he said.
Lyndhurst Fire Chief Mike Carroll told NewChannel 5 they're training to prepare for protesters, just in case they need to assist Cleveland authorities or deal with a situation in their own community.
"Fire and police are both training in their own individual way, but we are also training collaboratively on some of these situations. We're gonna have to work together," he said.
The trainings teach law enforcement and fire officials to deal with situations that have come up in other cities.
"Protesters may link themselves together, try to block a road, or try to block access to a particular building or area. Those are the things we are preparing for," Carroll said.
NewsChannel 5 first asked Secret Service about plans for protesters months ago. Secret Service directed questions to Cleveland police, who wouldn't comment on security-related information.
According to our sources in law enforcement, about 5,000 officers, from Erie County to Carroll County, will help Cleveland police during the convention.
Officials told NewsChannel 5 they're studying past conventions, to further understand what they need to get ready for.
Will Holland said it's better to be over-prepared, than not ready for what could lie ahead.
"We spend a lot of time preparing for things that never happen, but you have to be ready, in case it does," he said.
