CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -
If you're Charlotte's top cop and you have an event as big as the DNC coming to town, you jump at the chance to see how things may play out beforehand.
That is exactly what Charlotte Mecklenburg's police Chief Rodney Monroe was doing when he spent time in Tampa, FL working the Republican National Convention this week.
"It was kind of like actually seeing your plan unfold somewhere else," said Chief Monroe. "I think it's only a couple different ways you can slice this up and I think we're pretty much working from the same dish."
They may be working from the same dish, so to speak, but Monroe did acknowledge some differences.
"Their downtown area is a little more spread out," he pointed out. "The streets are much larger than the streets in our uptown area which gave people a little more room."
Another difference? Having the sitting president in Charlotte versus a presidential nominee means security is likely to be even tighter in Charlotte than it was in Tampa.
"It's needed," said Monroe.
Monroe also told WBTV officers are prepared to see more protesters than the ones who showed up in Tampa.
"Whether or not we'll reach the 10 thousand mark, I don't think so," he said. "But if we do we'll be well prepared for it."
Preparation that has been months in the making and will be put to the test in just four days.
"This is a very big stage that we're setting up here in Charlotte and we just want to be prepared to protect everyone," said Monroe. "Not only the dignitaries but every citizen."
That protection comes with the understanding that officers will not hesitate to act if things get out of hand.
"There is a line that's drawn in the sand as it relates to what we will and will not tolerate," Monroe said. "There's no way that we can allow people to come here to engage in violence, property damage or anything of that nature."
CMPD will have help. Several thousand officers from other departments and states will be in Charlotte for the DNC. Chief Monroe told WBTV those officers start arriving Saturday morning.
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