Black Lives Matter protest in Cleveland

Cleveland police used bicycles to help control the route of the Black Lives Matter protesters who pushed back during a Monday rally in Cleveland. Police plan to use the bike unit during the Republican National Convention to keep rival protest groups separated.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

CLEVLEAND, Ohio -- Part of Cleveland police's plan to keep protest groups that could be hostile to one another separate during next week's Republican National Convention was formed from an April trip to Washington D.C.

Chief Calvin Williams and other top Cleveland police officials watched as a line of Metropolitan Police on bicycles acted as a buffer between pro- and anti-Chinese government protesters outside the 2016 Nuclear Summit.

"We had never seen protest groups on both sides together before," Williams told cleveland.com.

When he got back to Cleveland, Williams ordered 300 bicycles and started assigning officers to a bike unit.

The development came as demonstrations outside rallies held by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump devolved into violent clashes between his supporters and detractors.

The convention, which officially begins Monday, is expected to draw thousands of protesters on both sides of some of the most contentious political issues, and the clashing of rival groups represents one a potential flashpoint for violence.

The bike unit was on display during the Cleveland Cavaliers championship parade in late June.

It was also used Monday as a few dozen protesters marched through downtown and Ohio City to decry recent police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.

About 40 officers rode on either side of the group, and sought to keep it confined to the lanes in one direction of traffic. Each officer rode with their front tire beside the back tire of the officer in front of them, forming a barricade.

Some of the protesters resisted, and sought to cross the barricade. Officers pushed back, but eventually some protesters just jumped over the bikes.

Still, Williams said the bike officers will be a major tactic to keeping protest groups separated during marches on the designated parade route at the RNC.

"You'll see officers, if not 300 then close to it, out on bikes," Williams said.

Police also plan to provide security at Public Square, where protest groups are expected to hold rallies, and at Kirkland Park, where the city has invited protest groups to rest and refuel.

The bike unit is one tactic that police officials gleaned during several trips to cities across the country that hosted major events, from political conventions to Super Bowls to national delegations.

Police visited Seattle, Tampa, Boston, New York and Charlotte, in addition to Washington D.C., and met with security officials about what worked and what didn't, Williams said.

Officials also learned to set up stations around the city for officers to rest and refuel without having to leave their designated zone, Williams said.