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Cleveland Approves Revised Protest Rules For RNC

newsflow24.com

The Cleveland Board of Control has approved the deal with the ACLU relaxing city rules on protest marches and rallies at the Republican National Convention,  after a federal judge last week determined the previous rules violated the right of free expression. American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio spokesperson Stephen David says the city has changed the parade route and reduced the size of a designated "event zone" in which people are prohibited from carrying everyday items and are not allowed to stand above a crowd to speak.

The board has also approved spending 9.5 million dollars to buy 50 million dollars worth of insurance coverage  for incidents during the convention. Policies will be purchased through a broker. Officials say the threat of terrorism and volatility caused broker AON Risk Services to issue a higher risk assessment. The firm polled 40 insurance companies before recommending the increased coverage.The policies will be funded with a 50 million dollar federal convention security grant. And Cleveland police officers will have body cameras affixed to their riot gear during the convention. Arizona-based TASER International says it will loan 300  units to the city, which also plans to bring in thousands of officers from across the country to help with security.  It will be up to those departments to determine whether their officers will wear body cameras.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
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