If they want to brutalize protestors, we don’t need them. It’s time we all walked the walk, and said no to policing OUR events with the same brutality we supposedly oppose.

But we aren't. We are talking city police departments.

Sure, Congress could reduce money coming to the state, and the state could reduce money going to the cities. But bottom line, it's the cities' choice how they re-budget the reduced amounst.

there's a whole lot of people that do private security that are not police, or Blackwater.

we're losing.

No explanation will be needed.

Are you suggesting we forego security because you think it makes us look bad?

And please explain why you think it make us look bad to have security?

Where did that happen?

so out of control that the regular police can't handle peaceful protests?

Unless we want to allow them to use tear gas, the regular police are not available.

flies around the world with corporate execs & trains them in kidnapping escape scenarios. His company is not associated with Erik Prince or any other wingnut group.

and Blackwater is now Academi. They've merged with several others and are now huge. Not sure who your nephew works for, but I would assume it's a global corporation, and they do more than a typical local security company. If you're guarding a gated community, the company you work for is not likely to be sending you around the globe. They're not likely licensed to.
The fusion of the two terms 'private security', and 'private military' is beneficial to 'military companies' because they don't have the negative 'military corporation' association of Blackwater
here's a list of corporations http://www.privatemilitary.org/private_military_companies.html

https://medium.com/smartaim-tech/war-for-money-leading-private-military-companies-of-the-world-eab9f9fe2de8

That is usually a negative connotation.

they marked the tires on Main St., and were at the beach parking lots, and did parking at private parties.

In Portland? Hiring mercenaries to secure public spaces?

there's a big differene between Brinks and Blackwater.

are the ones that asked for the help of outside police departments. Presumably they don't have enough manpower to provide security for the entire convention.

That said, with the lower attendance due to COVID, they maybe fine.

They should be able to handle that.

Who needs 'em en masse?

Seems like a small contingent of private security is all that is needed to secure any facility they will be sending the Zoom feed from.

but significantly pared down and not events all over the city at different facilities. And definitely shouldn't need all those LEOs.

We will take our batons and go home.

Be interesting to see how it plays out. I don't think this is going to help the cops in general by any means.

we will not provide security.

to realize this will cost them millions of dollars.

Pigs.. they all just Pigs.

There are only about 1,000 expected to show for the convention anyway. If rwnjs want to show up and cause trouble then it could be interesting.

I like it!

They may be pulling back to accommodate their unmarked Federal brethren.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention#The_Chicago_Police_riot

In its report Rights in Conflict (better known as the Walker Report), the Chicago Study Team that investigated the violent clashes between police and protesters at the convention stated that the police response was characterized by 'unrestrained and indiscriminate police violence on many occasions, particularly at night. That violence was made all the more shocking by the fact that it was often inflicted upon persons who had broken no law, disobeyed no order, made no threat. These included peaceful demonstrators, onlookers, and large numbers of residents who were simply passing through, or happened to live in, the areas where confrontations were occurring'."

Given how Trump is orchestrating violence in Portland, he and Barr could plan to use their right-wing gangs to create violent protests in Milwaukee. Trump can then make claims about people protesting Biden. It would be great if Biden anticipates this action by Trump and holds a press conference to ask BLM not to protest near the convention, and have them announce that they will not protest as well, to tell Trump in advance that his tactics won’t work.

The Dems wouldn't need protection from Democrats...........Any protestors are likely to be Right Wing, and if there is lessened security, the right wing protestors can have their way and do anything they want to disrupt without any resistance.......

Many times we have seen both sides protesting, and the police wading in and turning towards the left wing demonstrators and going after them with violence......

And racists...all of them!!!

If they just have the people who speak show up, they won't need that much security anyway.

no guts to be in the military
and
too afraid to an peace office....good riddance to you ilk.

Police unions really don't want to go to war with a Dem-controlled Congress...they will lose. Saint Ronnie Ray-gun showed us how.

if something happened to it."

basically this is just the typical police union reaction to calls for reform - which exactly reveals why we need such reform - under the current system they are not accountable.