Baton Rouge shooting puts police on guard on eve of Republican convention as union boss says, ‘Leadership needs to stand up and defend these police officers

The head of the Cleveland police union called on the governor of Ohio to declare a state of emergency and to suspend open-carry gun rights during the Republican national convention, following the killing of three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sunday.

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“I don’t care what the legal precedent is, I feel strongly that leadership needs to stand up and defend these police officers,” Steve Loomis, the head of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, told Reuters in an interview at the union’s headquarters on Sunday. The four-day convention is due to begin on Monday.

“An AR-15, a shotgun, multiple handguns. It’s irresponsible of those folks, especially right now, to be coming downtown with open carry AR’s or anything else,” Loomis told CNN. “I couldn’t care less if it’s legal or not.

“We are constitutional law enforcement, we love the constitution, support it and defend it, but you can’t go into a crowded theater and scream fire. And that’s exactly what they’re doing by bringing those guns down there.”

Loomis added that the union will also call on Cleveland’s police leadership to change its tactics for protecting the city.

“We are going to demand that the police chief, at a minimum, make sure that we have three officers working together, watching each other’s backs.”

Governor John Kasich’s office said he did not have the power to suspend the state’s open carry law, which allows people carry legal guns around Cleveland, including near the arena hosting the convention. Guns have been banned inside the convention hall except in the hands of secret service agents and other law enforcement personnel.

“Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested,” spokeswoman Emmalee Kalmbach said in a statement.

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“The bonds between our communities and police must be reset and rebuilt – as we’re doing in Ohio – so our communities and officers can both be safe. Everyone has an important role to play in that renewal.”

Thousands of federal and state officers have descended on Cleveland in the last week to prepare for the convention, and the city expects significant protests against the presumptive nominee, Donald Trump. Armed protesters and supporters of Trump are expected to rally this week. The convention begins on Monday, and a group calling itself Citizens for Trump has planned an event about a mile away from the arena.

Protesters have marched around the US against police abuses and shootings in recent weeks, and in Dallas earlier this month a gunman shot dead five police officers at one such peaceful rally. Texas also allows the open carry of firearms, and protesters with legal rifles sowed confusion for police trying to respond to the genuine shooter, Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings said.

Earlier on Sunday, Kasich released a video offering his condolences to the families of the victims of the Louisiana shooting, in which there was not yet indication of a motive. Authorities had not immediately reported on the circumstances of the shooting.