Unlike recent political convention sites such as New York, L.A. and the Twin Cities, Tampa has (until recently) had very little history of public activism. Which is why the near-daily Occupy Tampa protests of the past month have provided the Tampa Police Department with some early training for what is expected to occur at the Republican National Convention next August — that is, Occupy Tampa times 100.
While the current dustup seems limited (so far) to arguments over the legality of allowing protesters to sleep on the sidewalk, next year's demonstrations are expected to be much more volatile. As such, the city of Tampa is currently in talks with convention organizers about purchasing an insurance policy that would shield the city from lawsuit judgments that could result from police brutality, civil rights violations or other chaos.
The numbers of people arrested and the costs to the host cities for previous political conventions have been notable. In St. Paul, more than 600 people were arrested. In NYC in 2004, there were more than 1,800 arrests. The Big Apple paid out $6.6 million in attorney's fees and $1.5 million in settlements (over 90 percent of those cases ended with the charges dismissed or acquittals). And in Los Angeles, home of the 2000 DNC, the city paid out over $5 million to settle lawsuits.
However, when contacted by CL, officials with the city and the RNC were non-committal regarding whether the host committee will take out an insurance policy. City Attorney Jim Shimberg tells CL that the city is looking into it, "but nothing's been decided yet." 2012 Host Committee Chair Ken Jones is equally tight-lipped, saying simply "we just don't know how it's going to play out yet."
Historically convention host cities have self-insured for claims, setting aside a portion of their budget to pay damages from lawsuits they lose or settle. That would leave taxpayers on the hook, however, contradicting city officials have boasted that bringing the convention to Tampa wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime and that they would be reimbursed for any expenses.
In St. Paul, the home of the 2008 RNC, city officials made a deal requiring the host committee to buy insurance covering up to $10 million in damages and unlimited legal costs for law enforcement officials accused of violating civil rights or engaging in police abuse. In Denver, host city of the 2008 Democratic Convention, officials purchased a similar policy with some of the $50 million in grant money provided by the federal government for convention security — cash that Tampa is still waiting for.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn said his preference is for the RNC 2012 Host Committee to pick up the tab. "Obviously the deal that was struck between the Host Committee was before I got here. Mayor Iorio did the best she could to make sure that we don't absorb any of the costs — that they're all absorbed by the Committee. I'd like that to continue."
Surely, any insurance fund will not go untapped. Just last month the St. Paul and Minneapolis police departments and the U.S. Secret Service settled a lawsuit against Democracy Now host Amy Goodman and two of her producers for $100,000. They were among the more than 40 journalists arrested during the RNC while covering the protests outside the St. Paul Convention Center.
Bruce Nestor, the president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, said that to the best of his recollection there have been a half-dozen lawsuits filed against local police for abuse or wrongful arrest at the last convention, with most resulting in financial settlements.
Some critics have suggested that the existence of the insurance policy encouraged police to use aggressive tactics, since they knew there was a contingency fund in place.
"It raises concerns that it gives local police agencies and the city free reign to engage in excessive force and unjustified arrests without any fear of financial consequences," says Nestor.
The ACLU in Florida's John Dingfelder says that while the insurance policy doesn't necessarily create a civil liberties issue, "we are certainly concerned that the RNC in Tampa not repeat the mistakes that have occurred elsewhere."
He says that the civil liberties organization is "confident" that Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee will make it "abundantly clear to all local and visiting law enforcement officers that they respect the rights of the demonstrators, regardless of what type of insurance coverage the local agencies have."
Activist Chris Ernesto with St. Pete for Peace says if the RNC does take out an insurance policy, it gives the sense that the TPD and other law enforcement agencies have "carte blanche" to do what they must to keep the peace.
"If they're going to take that hard of a stance, then they better expect backlash from the people," Ernesto says, adding, " because, regardless, we're going to protest and we're going to have our actions, and the only question is, are they going to create a condition where there's so much tension between the authorities and the people that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy?"
But one interested observer says that's not right.
Tampa City Councilman Mike Suarez has worked in the insurance industry for 18 years, and currently is a commercial risk manager for Insurance Office of America (IOA). Though he can't speak directly to what the Twin Cities did in '08, he does say that the idea that law enforcement might have "carte blanche" to abuse people because of an insurance policy is hogwash.
"It's sort of like saying that I'm going to buy car insurance, now I can go out and wreck my car anytime I want. That doesn't make any sense. Insurance doesn't work like that. It works on contingencies, based on facts that are readily available."
He says he will do anything to save money and insurance dollars for the city of Tampa, and that he has no problem with the RNC picking up the tab.
Acting Council Chair Mary Mulhern said the council was told a year ago — when Tampa was selected to host the event — that no taxpayer money would be spent. "If there needs to be liability coverage for the city of Tampa, that needs to be paid for by the convention organizers. I won't support paying for liability insurance out of our General Fund."
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says such suits are inevitable. "Some of these groups use these lawsuits to fund themselves, so anything we can do to protect the city, we're going to try to do."
But will he able to do so? That depends on the city's negotiations with the 2012 Host Committee, as well as the actions of the protestors, the TPD, and the 3,000 other law enforcement officers Tampa officials will be importing from other jurisdictions for event security.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2011.