MILWAUKEE — A group of Sandy Springs police officers sent to Wisconsin this week to help with security at the Republican National Convention said they enjoyed their trip to “Cream City,” which largely went off without a hitch.
Standing outside the city’s downtown bar district on the final night of the convention, Lt. Matt McGinnis called it a “really cool” experience for the eight officers and a firefighter who made the 13-hour trek from metro Atlanta.
“Milwaukee’s been a great town,” he said. “The river’s beautiful, and what we’ve gotten to see of the city has been really nice.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The nine members of Sandy Springs’ Quick Response Force drove up in two vans and an SUV, McGinnis said, stopping only for food and gas. The crew worked overnight 12-hour shifts, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
They were among thousands of police officers from across the country who came to Milwaukee after the city put out a call months ago recruiting agencies to assist with convention security.
Federal funding for law enforcement-related security at this year’s party conventions comes from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The agency is providing $75 million for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and $75 million for next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
McGinnis described the duty as “a good week.”
“It’s been quiet,” he said. “People have been respectful of each other, so that made it very easy.”
Outside of a few unruly bar patrons “who maybe had one too many celebratory drinks,” he said there were no issues.
“To be part of something like this is just neat,” McGinnis said. “You’re kind of part of history in a way.”
Sandy Springs also sent a contingent of officers to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in North Carolina.
Local and federal officials were on heightened alert following last weekend’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at his Pennsylvania rally, but there were no major security breaches reported at the convention.
Protests coinciding with the four-day event remained peaceful, but some Milwaukee residents were outraged over the deadly shooting of a homeless man Tuesday by officers from Columbus, Ohio.
Police said they spotted 43-year-old Samuel Sharpe threatening another man with two knives in a city park outside the RNC security zone. Some locals said they didn’t think Sharpe would have been killed had Milwaukee police encountered him first.
“You would think you’d want your out-of-town police patrolling the RNC and your city police patrolling the city, since they know the people,” Milwaukee resident Andre Mitchell said Thursday during a protest downtown.
Mitchell’s cousin D’Vontaye Mitchell died last month after being pinned to the ground during a struggle with security guards outside a Milwaukee hotel. His death made national headlines.
McGinnis said he was grateful that he and his fellow officers from Sandy Springs weren’t involved in any use-of-force incidents during their time at the convention.
“We’re not up here for that,” he said. “We’re here to support Milwaukee and their plan and keep everything safe. We don’t want to be involved in anything like that.”
