The head of the Cleveland police union on Sunday urged Ohio's governor to declare a state of emergency and to suspend laws allowing the open carrying of firearms during the Republican National Convention, after the shooting of six police officers in Louisiana.
"I don't care what the legal precedent is, I feel strongly that leadership needs to stand up and defend these police officers," Steve Loomis, the head of the police union, told Reuters in an interview at the union's headquarters on Sunday.
The four-day convention is due to begin on Monday.
UPDATE: Ohio Governor John Kasich lacks the power to suspend a state law allowing citizens to openly carry guns, his office said on Sunday, after a police union official called for a suspension ahead of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
"Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested. The bonds between our communities and police must be reset and rebuilt - as we're doing in Ohio - so our communities and officers can both be safe. Everyone has an important role to play in that renewal," Kasich spokeswoman Emmalee Kalmbach said.