Cleveland police chief hits the streets to keep the peace

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams has never been far from the action during the Republican convention, taking charge when a flag-burning turned into a melee, stepping in when demonstrators nearly came to blows and joining bicycle officers on patrol.

On Wednesday afternoon, 17 people were arrested during a melee that authorities said erupted after a member of a revolutionary group tried to burn a flag and instead caught himself on fire.

City officials have been hoping for a mostly trouble-free convention to help repair the reputation of the Cleveland police, who are operating under federal supervision after a U.S. Justice Department investigation found a pattern of excessive force and violations of people's civil rights.

In 2012, Cleveland police killed two unarmed black people in a 137-bullet barrage after a high-speed chase that began when officers mistook engine backfire for gunshots.

While the Secret Service is responsible for security at the convention hall itself, Williams — a 52-year-old black man who has been chief for 2½ years — is in charge of the rest of Cleveland, with help from thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers.

On Tuesday, when a menacing crowd closed in around right-wing radio host Alex Jones in the city's Public Square, Williams himself waded in and hustled Jones away to an SUV.