Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says that the violent interactions between police and protesters outside the NATO summit in Chicago prove that he's had the right attitude all along in preparing Tampa police for "anarchists" who could create mayhem at this summer's Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Speaking after a ceremony celebrating recently completed sections of the Tampa Riverwalk, the mayor said that some of those who created tensions with the police in Chicago will be coming to Tampa, and that's why it was incumbent upon the city to create an "Event Zone" in the first place.
One of the activists who was in Chicago and will be protesting in Tampa, Fight Back Florida's Jared Hamil, saw the violent confrontation between protesters and law enforcement officials last Sunday. He says the blame lies with the police.
"The only violence we saw was in the aftermath [of a big rally] when police showed up in riot gear and forced people and shoved people, called people names."
