Authorities also said most of the people arrested during a flag-burning protest Wednesday have been charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct or obstruction of business.
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Two officers were assaulted and suffered “minor bumps and bruises”, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said.
Police in riot gear and on horseback moved in quickly to quell the disturbance, and several protesters struggled with police before being put in handcuffs.
Police say 23 people have been arrested this week, including 18 during a melee near the convention hall Wednesday that started when a protester tried to burn an American flag. Officers on rooftops watched through binoculars, while police on bicycles pedaled along the streets with no other traffic. Police sprayed something-either pepper spray or possibly just a fire-suppressant-at one point, a protester told TIME.
The four-day convention has been a challenge for police, who have arrested 22 people.
Despite Tuesday’s histrionics, police said there were no protest-related arrests.
Williams said when protests got heated, officers handled it accordingly.
The department has also been relying heavily on 300 bicycle cops, who are highly mobile yet not as intimidating as officers in cruisers.
Some in the crowd chanted “Blue lives murder”, as some officers were seen struggling with someone.
#2 Trump’s nominationRepublican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump’s children Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump celebrate on the convention floor during the second day session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016. At the same time, anti-police protesters called for an abolishment of law enforcement and berated police officers who were present.
Police Chief Calvin Williams said the demonstrations in Public Square made “quite a busy early afternoon”.
“There were no shots fired on any of our police transport vehicles right now near the Quicken Loans Arena”, officials said in a statement released by the Joint Information Center overseeing security at the four-day event.
Demonstrators make their way over the Lorain-Carnegie bridge into downtown during a protest, Thursday, July 21, 2016, in Cleveland, during the final day of the Republican convention.
Arrests at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland have been scant and local officials credit the large police presence for keeping the calm.
The huge security team with thousands of officers includes the Secret Service, FBI, National Guard, homeland security, Cleveland police and the Coast Guard on Lake Erie.
Protests so far outside the convention have been largely peaceful.
There were tense moments and some angry words as anarchists, anti-Muslim protesters and pro-capitalist groups filled the downtown Public Square, but most people seemed to get along.
Hundreds of Donald Trump supporters and foes had held dueling rallies a half-mile apart. None of the protesters were charged over burning the flag.
The week in Cleveland culminates with Donald Trump accepting his party’s nomination for president, a possibility many thought improbable when Trump announced his candidacy many months ago.
In a Tweet, Trump said Cruz “talks about the Constitution but doesn’t say that if the Dems win the Presidency, the new JUSTICES appointed will destroy us all!”
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Minutes later, more officers on bicycles formed a line to separate a conservative religious group from a communist-leaning organization carrying a sign that read, “America Was Never Great”.
