Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4022 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JULY 2016 ficials had to allay concerns is now officially closed. According to ABC News, the Greensboro Police De- partment in North Carolina has rescinded its offer to send 50 police officers to Cleveland in July to help secure the Republican Na- tional Convention. The biggest issue appears to be insurance. Cleveland will not be pro- viding workers’ compensa- tion insurance provided by the city for visiting officers. Then there’s the fact that no one in Cleveland seems to have anything like a plan. Lt. Brian James, Greens- boro deputy chief of police, told ABC News that officials in other jurisdictions are also nervous about Cleveland’s readiness for the event. “Police work is dangerous by nature. But of course in any situation, we try to plan and prepare as best we can,” James said. “Of course, we will be officers working out of ju- risdiction, so we are totally reliant on the Cleveland Police Department for direc- tion. We didn’t have enough information at this time to send our officers there, so we decided we are not going to send them.” Cleveland’s mayor’s office released a statement saying that Greensboro police were making too much of it and they hadn’t heard any con- cerns from the hundreds of law enforcement agencies they have asked for assis- tance. To really get a sense of just how messed up this situation really is, consider the follow- ing. Dan Ball, assistant direc- tor of media relations in the Cleveland’s mayor’s office, recently told reporters that the Cincinnati Police De- partment had pulled all of its officers from the RNC due to a “scheduling conflict.” Then Ball later told ABC News that the police depart- ment had not even been asked to work the event. And the Cincinnati Police Department never got back to ABC News’ after their request for comment. So it really depends on who you ask. There are the police officials worried about their out-of-town of- ficers being injured while uninsured as the result of poor planning at what ap- pears to be every level. And then there are the officials in Cleveland that are sticking to the “nothing to see here, move along,” routine. “The Cleveland Division of Police is working closely with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state, and local levels to ensure we are prepared for the convention,” Chief Wil- liams said. “We remain on schedule in the planning process and to reiterate, we will be pre- pared.” Hopefully, for attendees, police and protestors alike, that prediction pans out. Continued from page one Despite out-of-town agencies pulling officers from the RNC and what appears to be a stunning lack of preparation, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams (above) is confident that his people are prepared and that the event will be under control. Insurance for out-of-town cops is just one of the issues T here’s no ques- tion that some people will snicker and laugh at it but there’s an interesting pro- gram in San Antonio involv- ing cops and art. A bunch of area law en- forcement personnel re- cently spent a day at San Antonio’s McNay Art Mu- seum. The training program is called the “Art of Percep- tion.” The idea is that by looking at paintings and other works of art, cops can develop a broader vision that will help them think outside the box. “People hear art and po- lice work and they can’t quite put it together,” said Amy Herman, founder of Art of Perception. “It’s ac- tually a natural connection. I bring police officers, law enforcement agents and in- telligence officers to look at works of art as a whole new visual narrative.” Herman conducts the in- novative training workshops for law enforcement agen- cies across the country. She tells the law enforce- ment professionals to look at a painting they way they would a crime scene. “I tell them that I have a profound respect for what you do. I’m not a law en- forcement agent, but I’m going to help you do your job more effectively,” Her- man said. “This is not something you would normally think of as training,” said Mary Beth Fisk, executive director of the Ecumenical Center. “But it is a training in com- munication, listening and observation, which is so im- portant when you’re dealing with evidence and cases.” Can looking at art im- prove a police officer’s per- formance and skill set? Some will say maybe and others will likely consider the thing a joke. But anything that gets people out of the office and vehicles to look at art can’t be a bad thing. Above: Wide Walls by Jean Michel Basquiat recently sold at auction for 57.3 million bucks. Seeing differently Unique program for cops based on art