Mayor Brandon Johnson took a victory lap on Friday, celebrating the conclusion of a Democratic National Convention that saw Vice President Kamala Harris accept her party’s presidential nomination with minimal disruptions from protesters.
Johnson said the city had pulled off the “best convention the world has ever seen,” while pointing out the unmet expectation of conflicts between police and protesters who marched in support of Palestinians and against Israeli military action in Gaza.
Johnson said it was a triumph of the Chicago Police Department. “If the 1968 convention went down in history as the example of police brutality, then the 2024 convention will go down as the example of constitutional policing,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the DNC helped elevate the city’s reputation. “As far as the world is concerned, it’s clear people fell back in love with Chicago,” he said.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said there were 74 protest-related arrests since Monday. He said there have been only 8 or 9 complaints filed against officers. He said only four people were injured in protests and needed to be taken to hospitals.
All of that, he said, are examples of how the police department has grown despite the attempts by some protesters to provoke officers into conflict.
“We watched these officers go through it. We saw people yelling their faces, yelling obscenities, and they maintain their cool throughout,” Snelling said. “They didn’t take the bait. So as a result of it, you didn’t see the activity that people expected to see. So again, please, can we stop talking about 1968.”
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