SEATTLE — In Cleveland, police officers on bicycles managed protests and formed safe paths for delegates to reach the Republican National Convention.
"It was very, very effective. Officers out there did a great job," said Seattle police Sgt. James Dyment, who was in Cleveland, working off-duty as a consultant, advising police about bike patrols.
A leader in Seattle's bike unit, Dyment helped manage Thursday night's Black Lives Matter march in Seattle. He's been sharing his bicycle policing knowledge with other departments, and helped Cleveland police figure out what gear to buy and how to plan their tactics.
"If you watch the videos out there it looked very similar to Seattle police. They had the same gear on. They were really able to de-escalate a lot of those situations by effectively putting people where they needed to be," Dyment said.
When a Seattle anti-capitalist march on May Day turned violent, Seattle police corralled the demonstrators, forcing them into a parking lot south of downtown.
Cleveland police were visiting Seattle that night, watching SPD's strategy.
"We've come up with what's called the Seattle way with the bicycle," Dyment said.
Next week, SPD is sending Dyment to New York to help train NYPD officers, as Seattle becomes a national leader in policing via bicycle.
Seattle police helped Cleveland officers prepare for RNC
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